It's Called College
by Imagination Is A Gift
Summary: After the war with Gaia, Percy and Annabeth find themselves at college in New Rome, with a freshly single Jason. There they find Reyna and the four of them begin to stick together like glue. But nobody said college was easy and they begin to find that they are falling apart. Are their bonds strong enough to hold together as college pulls them apart? Loosely based on Gossip Girl.
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER ONE:** _Bedfellow_

Annabeth Chase walked through New Rome, a large blue basket of laundry in her arms and her phone pressed between her ear and her shoulder. "Look, Pipes, maybe instead of complaining to me, you should call up Jason and talk about it. I know you guys said no long distance but-"

"Exactly," Piper said from the other end of the line. "I think it would be easier for both of us if we didn't keep in touch. I mean, I love him, I always will. But it will be too hard to let go and move on if we talk to each other all the time. And I want him to be able to move on."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Okay. I'll make sure he's fine. You take care of yourself, all right? I love you."

"And with that, I'm guessing you have to go," Piper teased. "I love you too. Have fun at college and say 'hey' to Percy for me."

Annabeth turned to the boy walking next to her. "Piper says 'hey'," she passed on.

Percy Jackson nodded as he tried to navigate the streets, barely being able to look passed the giant box he was carrying. "'sup," he said.

"Percy says ''sup'," Annabeth said into the phone. "Okay, now I actually have to go. Bye!"

"Bye," Piper returned as Annabeth hung up.

Annabeth turned to Percy and smiled. The couple had been planning college since she found Percy in Camp Jupiter. Finally they were there, walking onto campus with boxes and suitcases in hand. They kept looking at each other and Annabeth wanted to say something really sentimental and valuable. But when she thought about everything the couple had been through, and then thought about the fact that it was over, it was all over and they were settling down into a normal life at college – a college for Demigods, but whatever – all she could do was grin from ear to ear and burst out laughing.

She remembered when Percy went missing, when she spent months looking for him, thought he had lost his memories of his, gone out of her own mind with worry. She remembered parting from him again to fight Arachne, a quest that only she could have undertook. She remembered almost dying at the spider's hand, before tricking her into falling into Tartarus. She remembered Percy refusing to let her go as Arachne dragged her down with her. She remembered travelling through Tartarus with Percy. The couple had made it out of Hell for God's sake!

"We made it," she muttered, sighing.

Percy was about to reply when Dr Chase interrupted him. "Annabeth, where's the dorm room?" Annabeth turned back to him, clearly struggling with one of her boxes. Yeah, she better get him to the dorm quick.

Frank, as newly elected Praetor of New Rome, had opened the gates to Mortals, who could see through the mist for one day to see their kids off to college. "Mom, you good?" Percy called behind him. He and his step-dad, Paul Blofis, had taken most of the heavy boxes, being gentleman and everything, but Sally still had a pretty heavy box in her hands.

There was a pause. "Emotionally or physically?" she called back.

"Physically, first," Percy answered.

"I'm good," she answered enthusiastically. "Emotionally... well I'm struggling a little."

He smirked as he and Annabeth lead their parents to the actual college part of the city. When she saw it, Annabeth had expected it to be older. But this Rome was built fairly recently, so it was only a few decades old. It was a light brown building shaped kind of like a square with a small courtyard in the middle. It was six stories high and all the dorm rooms were in the top three floors. They walked through the front door of the buildings and found the elevators. Only one was free and both Annabeth and Percy couldn't fit into it with all of their stuff.

"Do you want to go in first and we'll get the next one?" Annabeth offered.

Percy looked torn between wanting to be a gentleman to Annabeth and wanting to be a gentleman to his mother. "We'll be quick," he said, kissing her on the cheek before grabbing the elevator. His mother and step-father got in with him and the doors closed as Percy winked at his girlfriend.

She smirked and turned back to her own family, who put their boxes down as they waited for the elevator. Her father was there, taking a lot of the luggage to protect his wife from the weight. Her step-mother seemed to be especially nice to her that day. Over the past few months, after Annabeth went to war _again_ , they had been trying to build a kinder, more calm relationship. Annabeth had began to actually like her. Not that she would ever see her as a mother, but she didn't hate her anymore.

Her two younger brothers, Matthew and Bobby, were just about old enough to carry some of her stuff, but spent their strength on her pillows. She had run away from home when they were very young, but they had memories of her, and over time, she had built an entirely new relationship with them. "So..." she mused, beginning to feel tension in the air. "How are you possibly going to survive while I'm gone?" she asked, awkwardly laughing.

Her father sniggered, remembering all the years he went without her. "No idea," he said. He smiled at her. "Are you going to be okay?"

She shrugged. "I survived Hell, I'm sure college will be fine," she said. "I'll e-mail you everyday. I mean, phones are kind of strictly forbidden within New Rome."

"You called your friend outside," Dr Chase said, confused.

Annabeth nodded. "Terminus is on a break. He's a statue that takes phones and weapons off of people when they enter the city. But Frank, the praetor, thought he would scare the mortals. He'll probably come and take my phone later. But I'll leave the city occasionally the make calls."

"Okay," her father said after a pause. "Oh, the elevator's here." The family crammed themselves into a fairly small elevator as it started going up. They arrived on the fifth floor and stepped out. Annabeth pulled out a piece of paper with her dorm room number on it and started walking through the corridor, looking for it.

It kind of felt like she was in a hotel. Warm beige walls, thin blue carpet, white ceiling with dim lighting and dark blue doors on either side with gold numbers. It had a comfortable feeling to it, and felt quite calm. The corridor wasn't wide, about a meter or so, so the family walked in single file. Finally Annabeth found her dorm, number 2864. The whole college was about half the size of your usual college, with about 4500 dorm rooms, 1500 on each floor. It was a big place, but still slightly compact.

Annabeth's dorm consisted of a tiny kitchen, a small bathroom and one bedroom. Through the front door, the kitchen was to the right and the bathroom was to the left. The door to the bedroom was just across from her. The walls were white and there was a light hardwood floor underneath her feet. The whole place looked tiny and empty. She walked to the bedroom door and opened it up, her family following her as she looked inside.

It was 3 metres squared with a thin, light grey carpet and white walls. The door was in the middle of one wall, a small mirror with white blinds opposite her. Against the wall to her immediate right were bunk-beds, and somebody had put a suitcase on the top bunk. There was one desk on either side of the door. Under the window opposite her was a small black couch and against the left wall were some metal shelves, a small chest of draws and some photo frames pinned to the wall. There was a small, thin door on that wall as well and Annabeth wondered where it lead to. Above the window was an air-conditioner.

"This is nice," her step-mother said, looking around and nodding. Annabeth nodded in agreement as her family put her few boxes and suitcases down. "Somebody's taken the top bunk."

Annabeth shrugged. "I would have chosen the bottom anyway. I just didn't imagine having a room mate."

"Did you not want one?" Dr Chase asked, ready to go and complain.

"No, it's fine," Annabeth said. "I just didn't really think about it."

There was a pause as Annabeth sighed. She realised they were all going to want some tearful farewell, like all parents got when their children went off to college. "Do you want some help unpacking?" her step-mother asked her, going to open one of the boxes. "Once we liven the place up, it'll feel just like home."

Annabeth wanted to ask what that meant, but she decided she was reading to much into it. And she didn't want to cause a fight. "That's okay," Annabeth said. "Really I should wait until I meet my room mate. Need to cooperate and everything."

There was another pause for a minute. "I guess this is it then?" Dr Chase asked.

Both of Annabeth's brothers ran up and hugged her waist. She put her arms around their shoulders for a minute before bending down to look them in the eye. "I don't want you to go," Matthew said. Some people had trouble telling the two boys apart, but never Annabeth.

"I'm not going to go forever," she promised, smiling. "I'll come home every Christmas."

"I'll miss you," Bobby said, tearfully.

Annabeth kissed them both on the cheek. "I'll miss you too. Both of you."

She straightened up and faced Mrs Chase. Her step-mother smiled weakly at her. "I am so proud of you," she said. "Don't you ever think otherwise. Annabeth I know in the past that... Look I'm just trying to say: I'm sorry if I made you feel like... Like you didn't have a home with us, that I hated you. I don't. I married your father when you were five and I watched you grow into this strong, smart, independent woman. You are my child, and I love you!"

Annabeth smiled, beginning to tear up herself. She hugged her father's wife and it was genuine. "Thank you," she whispered.

Mrs Chase took the boys out of the room and Annabeth faced her Dad. They paused before falling into each other's arms. "I love you, Annabeth," he said. "I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks Dad," she said, pulling apart and wiping a tear from her cheek. "I'm proud of me as well."

"You sure you got everything?" he said. "You going to be okay?"

She nodded. "I'll be fine. I'll e-mail you as soon as I get my laptop running. I love you," she said, beaming from ear to ear.

"I love you, too," he said. He kissed her forehead before forcing himself out of the door, closing it behind him. Annabeth sighed and turned back to her dorm room. Since she was pretty sure she'd be having the bottom bunk, she began to bring her sheets out of one of the boxes, preparing to make the bed first.

The tiny door on one of the walls crept open behind Annabeth and she turned to see Reyna poking her head out. "Hey, Annabeth!" Reyna said, smiling a little. As though Annabeth being there had been a pleasant surprise.

"Reyna!" Annabeth exclaimed, opening her arms to hug her. Reyna closed the door behind her and excepted the hug, wrapping her own arms around Annabeth. When they pulled apart Annabeth asked: "What are you doing here?"

Reyna shrugged. "College!" Annabeth noticed that she wasn't wearing her armour or purple toga, but instead she wore skinny jeans and a light blue tank top. "I guess I'm your room mate?"

Annabeth paused as Reyna walked past her and opened her suitcase, which was the one on the top bunk. "Wait," Annabeth said. "Don't you have Rome to run? I mean, I'm really happy I have you and not some weird Junkie or something, but..."

"Nobody's praetor forever, Annabeth," Reyna said, rolling her eyes. "I had to continue with my life at some point, and where better to start than college? Besides, it's been on our – my plan for a very long time."

"So you just quit being a praetor?" Annabeth said.

"I wish it had been that easy," Reyna said. "There was a lot of paper work and meetings. I left Hazel Levesque with my job, so she can rule with Frank. Rome's greatest power couple. Anyway, I've wanted to go to college since I was five when I found out what it was. Now I'm eighteen, so it's now or never, right? Do you want the top bunk?"

Annabeth smirked. "Same with me. And no, I prefer the bottom one. God, I'm actually really glad I got you. What is that? Like some crazy coincidence?"

"Whatever it is, I want to thank it," Reyna said, smiling at Annabeth. "Your family seems nice. I didn't want to intrude so I waited until they left."

"That's stupid, my Dad might have liked to have met you," Annabeth said. "Make sure my room mate wasn't a mental case. What's through that door anyway?"

"Closet," Reyna said. "Kind of small, but some more room than these draws."

Annabeth nodded before tackling the big question. "You said 'our'," she reminded Reyna. "When you said that college was always a part of your plan, you said 'our'. What was that about."

Reyna paused, rolling her eyes. "Nothing, don't worry about it."

"No," Annabeth said, shaking her head. "Someone's got beans. Spill them." She poked Reyna in the ribs, narrowing her eyes.

"Jason," Reyna answered. "Before he left and met Piper, we had a college plan. Together, you know? But now he's in New York, so I'm doing it by myself."

Annabeth paused, sucking her teeth. "He and Piper broke up," she said. "He chose New Rome over Camp Half-Blood because he wanted to go home and Piper didn't want to pack up her life and move across the country to be with him. They decided long distance was never going to work. He's in college, sharing a dorm room with Percy."

Reyna paused before turning to Annabeth and shrugging. "Just because we're both here doesn't mean we're here together. Just because he broke up with his girlfriend doesn't mean we're friends again."

"I'm just passing along information," Annabeth shrugged. She walked over to one of her boxes that had a carrier bag sat on top. They had popped to a small shop just outside of Camp Jupiter on the way there, so the champagne bottle was still chilled. "Now," Annabeth said, "as your friend who's also been looking forward to college since I was five... I hereby promise to be the best room mate you could ask for."

Reyna sniggered and held out some glasses as Annabeth popped open the champagne. The blonde poured a couple glasses and the girls clinked them together. "Back at you," Reyna winked, drinking.

Reyna and Annabeth spent the rest of the day unpacking. The kitchen was basically a counter in the hallway opposite the bathroom. There wasn't a lot of room but they managed to fit in a coffee maker, tupperware, measuring cups, cutlery, glasses and mugs, plates and bowls. Annabeth made a list of food they needed as Reyna figured out how the microwave worked.

"I guess we'll just have time for tinned things," Annabeth muttered. "How many classes are you taking?"

"No idea, I haven't registered yet," Reyna said, the plug sparking as she plugged in the microwave. She laughed, completely fine. "Home sweet home."

"How have you not registered for classes yet?" Annabeth exclaimed. "That was the first thing you had to do!"

"Well what are you doing?" Reyna asked.

"Architecture 101 and Advanced Mathematics," Annabeth said. "I've been thinking about signing up for Art and Design as well since a lot of drawing comes with architecture."

"Didn't you already rebuild Mount Olympus," Reyna said, moving away from the microwave and looking at Annabeth's list. "Don't you kind of know everything there is about architecture from experience?"

"There's always more to learn," Annabeth shrugged. "Besides, I need a degree to get a job in the real world. I can't just walk into an interview and say 'I redesigned Olympus. How much am I getting paid?'"

Reyna rolled her eyes. "Fine. How about I do Art and Design with you? Then I can pick another by myself."

"That sounds great," Annabeth said. She looked around her bag for a list of courses and read a few out to Reyna. "How about Sociology?"

"Sounds good," Reyna said. "What do they have in terms of Journalism?"

"Why Journalism?" Annabeth asked.

Reyna shrugged. "Why not Journalism? Get into the media, make a few changes. No idea what I want to do with my life, so might as well make a name for myself in the real world."

Annabeth checked her list. "Multi-Media Journalism. You want to sign up?"

Reyna shrugged. "Why not? We'll go down and register in a bit."

They moved onto the bathroom and Annabeth started hanging up a shower curtain as Reyna arranged a collection of towels. "How come this place has got three rooms and we still have to share a bedroom?" Annabeth asked. "I mean, no offence, I'm sure we'll have fun and everything, but why?"

"Because we don't have that much space," Reyna said. "What would you give up in exchange for your own room? The bathroom or the kitchen?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Forget I said anything. Besides, sharing a room will be fun."

Reyna sighed. "How's Percy by the way?"

"He's good," Annabeth said. "I'm going to go and see him in his new dorm room in a bit. He moved in with Jason, so you should come along."

Reyna smirked. "Yeah, thanks but no thanks. I am no where near ready to even look at him."

It wasn't long before Percy found his dorm room. It was the same model as everybody's in the college so it was pretty small. He left his suitcase and cardboard box in the kitchen and peaked into the bedroom, laughing at what he saw.

"Is he okay?" Sally asked from over Percy's shoulder. Jason Grace was lying face down in bed like a plank, headphones in, completely oblivious to the world, a couple of his own boxes next to the bed. Percy was glad he had taken the bottom bunk so he didn't have to fight him for the top. Not that he would lose or anything.

"He's fine," Percy laughed, rolling his eyes. "His girlfriend dumped him and he's too cool to show it, but secretly he's listening to Ron Rope's _drop in the ocean_."

"This is _Down_ by Jason Walker," Jason said, pointing to his headphones. "Dumb ass."

Percy sniggered and rolled his eyes. "You two know each other?" his mother asked, pointing to each of them. Jason didn't look up from his pillow but Percy nodded.

"You remember Thalia? This is her little brother, Jason," he explained.

"Oh Jason," Sally said. "The one you talk about all the time."

Now Jason groggily looked up and faced Percy, the slight hint of a smile beginning to creep up onto his face. "You got something to tell me, Perc?" he asked, flirtatiously.

Percy just winked. "You know it, Babe," he replied. He turned back to his mother. "Anyway, now that you've completely embarrassed me..."

His mother sighed before hugging him. He hugged back and they stood there for a minute. After a while he tried to pull away but her grasp on him tightened. "No, I'm not ready yet," she protested. He was taller than her now and going off to college so he could only imagine how she felt.

"Mom," he laughed a little, hearing the choke in her voice and tearing up himself. "I love you."

She didn't reply, the words sounding so final. "We should let go before I change my mind and drag you home with me," she said. She finally let Percy go and wiped a stray tear from her cheek. "E-mail me every day!"

"I'll be fine," he said. "I have Annabeth."

Sally nodded. "You tell her that I'm proud of her as well," she ordered. "I don't know where her dorm is so I can't say goodbye to her." Percy rolled his eyes, remembering his mother's friendship with his girlfriend.

"Come here," Percy said, turning to Paul and pulling him in for a hug as well. "You take care of my Mom, okay? You be nice to her or I'll be coming for you."

Paul laughed a little, as if the thought of him mistreating Percy's Mom was ridiculous. Percy remembered Smelly Gabe and couldn't be happier that Sally had found someone who thought the idea of hurting her was preposterous. "I am very proud to see you here," he said.

"Thank you," Percy said. The three of them smiled at each other. "Okay, _go_!" he ordered them, making them laugh a little. "Before I change my mind and make you stay!"

"We're going, we're going," Sally said, dragging Paul out of the door. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Percy said before turning back to the bedroom and looking in on Jason. "Hey, roomie."

Jason rolled completely over and sighed. "I think we should drink to something, roomie," he replied. Percy wondered if he wanted a celebratory drink or an _escape from the memory of your ex_ drink.

Either way, "I couldn't agree more, roomie," Percy said. He had travelled from New York with Annabeth, so when her Dad bought her a bottle of champagne to celebrate college with, Sally had bought him one as well, making him promise to drink with moderation. He popped open the bottle and poured two glasses. "To us," he said, holding his up.

"And college," Jason added, clinking glasses with Percy and drinking.

* * *

 **A/N: Hi! So, I wasn't planning on publishing this for another couple weeks, so I could get a few more chapters done and finish off at least one of the other three stories I have going at the moment. But two of them are nearing a close and I got really inspired with this one. I have some big plans ahead!**

 **For those who don't know me, I'm Izzy. You may or may not know my prequel Jeyna series that I got going on - if you do, I want to tell you now that this is completely unrelated to that series. Jason and Reyna have some whole different dynamics going on here, so don't expect this to be like a sequel story.**

 **Another Jeyna related note: This story takes place a little after the war with Gaia, and Jason chose New Rome. I didn't change much about the Jiper relationship, they were still in love and Jason will miss her like crazy, and you won't find any Piper hate. The only thing that's kind of different is that they're broken up.**

 **This is actually my fist time writing for Percabeth, so please let me know if I'm doing it wrong, if they're OOC or anything. Reyna may seem a little OOC, but that's because I wanted to explore a different side of her, the Reyna she was before she had to take control of Rome all by herself. Just a little more fun, is all, but still our bad ass queen!**

 **Anyway, if you know me already, you know that reviews make my life, so please leave one! Thanks! -Izzy**


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO:** _Easier Said Than Done_

Classes started the next day. Percy fell off the top bunk in his dorm room and landed on the floor in a heap. He groaned as he found his way out of a tangle of bedsheets and pillows and used his hands to stretch his face as he found his way to the bathroom. He brushed his teeth and went into the tiny kitchen in his dorm. He found some cereal and walked back into the bedroom, wearing nothing but pyjama bottoms and a t-shirt, his black hair messy.

"Dude, get up," he ordered, looking at Jason on the bottom bunk. He was lying face down, above all of his blankets, with his face smushed into a pillow.

"No," Jason replied, perfectly awake. Percy rolled his eyes before his eyebrows furrowed together, confused.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Mourning," Jason answered. "My relationship is dead."

Ever since Jason had arrived at New Rome, he had been lifeless and boring. Which was annoying, because Percy wasn't. But Piper had been his first love, so Percy let him mourn the end of the relationship. "So are a lot of things," Percy sighed. "Pick yourself up, we have classes to get to."

"What classes?" Jason grumbled.

"You got Sociology first at 10am," Percy replied, looking at a list on Jason's desk. "Then Fitness and Physical Activity with me at 3. Good day, Buddy. Get up and put some clothes on." Of course, Jason was wearing clothes, but he couldn't go to class in pyjamas.

"I don't want to," he sighed.

"If you keep still with your face in a pillow, you will snuff yourself to death," Percy shrugged. "Don't make me drag you up. I will to save your life!"

"You're a good friend, Percy," Jason grumbled. He turned onto his left so he could breathe and he sighed. "Where are those clothes you were talking about?"

Percy opened the closet and threw a shirt and jeans at Jason before taking some clothes out for himself. "Eat something," he ordered, going to the bathroom to get changed.

Almost as soon as he was wearing clothes, there was a knock on the door. He hopped to answer it, trying to get his shoes on at the same time. He swung it open and beamed when he saw Annabeth smiling brightly at him. "Hey!" he said, wrapping his arms around her instantly.

Jason walked in on them a few minutes later as they made out on the kitchen work top. "Oh Gods," he groaned. "Seriously, guys? A little sensitivity is all I ask for!"

"Dude," Percy said, pulling away from Annabeth who was sat on the counter. "Just because you're depressed doesn't mean you should bring the rest of us down with you!" Annabeth glared at him before lifting her hand and flicking him.

"Be nice," she ordered. "But seriously, Jason. We made it back from hell and now we're in college. We're being victorious."

"Can't you be victorious in your dorm room?" he asked her, pouring a bowl of cereal for himself. "Where I don't have to watch?!"

"But then we'll just disturb my room mate," Annabeth said, shrugging. "And she'll be a lot madder than you are, Jason."

"Aw, did you get someone mean?" Percy asked, instantly worried about her.

Annabeth shrugged. "A little, but in an awesome way. Guess who it is."

"Wait, we know her?" Jason asked, pouring milk into his bowl, almost hitting Percy with the fridge door.

"Yep," Annabeth said. "And it's not that hard to guess. Roman, around our age, planning for college for years..." she trailed off looking expectantly at Jason, remembering what Reyna had said about the two of them planning for college together.

"Wait, Reyna?" he asked. Annabeth nodded and Jason paused. His facial expressions were hard to read, but Annabeth got a sense of disbelief off him. "I can't believe she actually did it. I mean, I know she wanted to, but I couldn't picture her going to college without me."

"Well apparently she felt the same about you," Annabeth sighed. "She left Hazel in charge as Praetor, alongside Frank. We'll have to go and visit them sometime. Anyway, I got Architecture 101 in ten minutes, so I best be off."

There was a long silence. "You okay?" Percy asked Jason after about a minute, Jason kind of in shock. He didn't know what he was, okay or terrible.

"I... um... I have to get to Sociology," he said, grabbing his shoulder bag and running his hand through his hair, his emotions very conflicted.

"It doesn't start for another half hour," Percy called as Jason threw out his uneaten cereal and rushed out the dorm room.

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Jason arrived in the lecture hall about twenty minutes too early. He had gotten lost twice but managed to find his way. Nobody was in there yet so he climbed the steps and got a seat at the back of the room, setting his stuff out, nice and ready. He knew that he had been weird that morning, and Percy probably picked it up as well. It wasn't a stranger to anybody that Reyna and Jason had, once upon a time, may or may not have had something related to romantic feelings for each other.

Those possible feelings were never confronted and never even confirmed. He had no clue whether or not Reyna had felt anything like that towards him. And he didn't exactly either...

They had been best friends to years and honestly, there wasn't anybody on Earth Jason would rather talk to at the moment. They had helped each other through so many break ups and disasters and Reyna had always been there for him, so when him and Piper split up, his first instinct was to go and talk to Reyna about it. She would understand, she would be there for him.

Except they weren't friends any more.

Which was a shame because she was the best friend anybody could ask for. She had been funny, silly, happy. She could make you laugh when skies were grey and make you shine when your brightest colour was black. He remembered every inside joke, every injury, every snow ball fight, every time they fought back to back and every time they saved each others lives.

They became praetors shortly before he went missing, leaving her all alone. Her happy, silly demeanour washed away, leaving her cold and distant to everyone. She had to run the camp by herself, so she put professionalism above all else. Well, this was what he assumed by what people told him. He hadn't actually spoken to her since.

All memories of her was washed away, all laughs and jokes and wars. Everything. It was all gone. And when he remembered everything, he didn't know what he felt for her. All he knew was that he really liked Piper. And he didn't want the possibility of feelings for Reyna to get in the way of something special – his feelings for Piper.

If he had spoken to Reyna after he remembered, he didn't know what his emotions would do. He really cared about Piper, and he didn't want to let that go, so he let Reyna go instead. He didn't realise he was doing it, but he did. He didn't speak to her, or acknowledge her existence at all.

If he knew what he had been doing, he would have spoken to her. After all, he had no implication that his possible feelings for her were returned. It wasn't her fault at all. But his subconscious had taken over because he knew he had feelings for her, no matter how tiny, how small and how insignificant, they were there. And they couldn't be because he was beginning to love Piper. So he shut Reyna out.

Before he could think any further, the doors to the lecture hall opened and a crowd came bustling in, all chatting merrily and laughing with ease. Not a care on any of their minds, no problems, no trouble like the war in Jason's head. He noticed Reyna at the front of the crowd. Crap! She was doing Sociology? He paused before almost sniggering to himself. Of course she was.

She looked like a lawyer who was taking the day off. She wore skin tight blue jeans and a tight burgundy tank top. She wore a tight, cropped black blazer with sleeves to her elbows. She walked with heels on and with the posture of a queen. He remembered when she first arrived at camp, straight off of C.C's island, where they taught her how to style hair, how to draw make-up, how to pick what to wear and how to hurt men. She had been formed into a shallow, self-absorbed princess.

Jason was the first person to get through to her, to discover a person underneath and he taught her all about Gods and Monsters. Slowly she developed into less of a man-hater and more of a person you could have a deep conversation with. She developed into the type of person who could wear heels and skinny jeans like armour. She was still sassy, but less mean. She changed from a spoiled princess to a proud queen.

When she walked into the lecture hall, she was searching for something in her bag. She started climbing the steps, the crowd behind her. Jason knew immediately that she planned to sit at the back. The two of them always sat at the back of every senate meeting, every war games tutorial. The back was their spot. And she didn't realise that Jason was already sat there. When she did look up from her back and into his eyes, she jumped back and tried to turn around. Unfortunately, with the entire class behind her, she was blocked. She huffed, grumbling under her breath as she sat next to Jason.

"Hey," he said, testing the waters.

She just threw him a sarcastic smile, like an attempt at the kind of smile you give a stranger.

He thought about everything he had wanted to talk to her about since he remembered her, of everything he wanted to say and everything he didn't. He had completely abandoned her. And she was mad and she had every right to be. She had lost her best friend for no reason.

But he kind of needed to talk to her right now. As his best friend. Leo was God knows where with Calypso, he never spoke to Frank or Hazel anymore, Nico had always been distant towards him, Percy was kind of busy with Annabeth. And he had just lost his first love, the love of his life, because he chose to go home. He was lost without Piper, and the only person who had ever been able to find him was Reyna.

"What is Sociology?" their professor asked from the front of the class, starting their very first lesson.

Reyna ignored Jason the entire lesson, not even a glimpse in his direction. Jason wasn't exactly eager to catch her attention, either. Every time he looked at who used to be his best friend, he thought of everything he gave her up for. He thought of Piper and he didn't need to get mopy and depressed in the middle of class. He could always transfer later.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Annabeth and Percy had been a couple for a good few years now, so they were no stranger to a teenage make-out session in Percy's bedroom. At one point, Percy pulled away. "I think we should make something to eat," he said. "Survival skill rule one: Eat regularly."

Annabeth sniggered. "I doubt somehow your mother's going to walk in with Pizza Bagels," she agreed. "You're on your own now, Seaweed Brain. Going to have to feed yourself."

"My thoughts exactly," he said. "I think we do have some pizza. Jason and I stocked up on such an important life necessity. Besides, it's kind of our thing, right? Pizza in Paris, pizza in Rome-"

"Pizza in college," she smiled. "Got any with olives?"

"Of course, Wise Girl," he said, standing up. "I figured I'd have you over more often."

"Why?" she asked flirtatiously, standing up as well and following him into his new kitchen as he opened up the freezer and looked around for the pizza boxes.

"Well," he mused, "Mostly to piss of my room mate and his broken heart. But also because after about 6 years, a billion quests and one trip to Hell, you, Annabeth Chase, are starting to grow on me."

Annabeth laughed as she preheat the oven, watching Percy get the pizza's ready. "When is Jason going to be back?" she asked, sitting on the counter like she had been this morning.

"He said he'd give us until midnight," Percy smirked, winking at her. "I think he's in the library, but I don't think he really likes it there. But we got a good five hours of time."

"Why, whatever could we do with all that?" Annabeth asked.

Percy just looked at her and the couple shared a moment of unspoken communication before they were back in Percy's bed, making out once more but in an entirely different way.

About an hour and a half later, Percy was just about out of breath. They laid pressed up against each other with the covers over them. Annabeth looked up at him but his eyes were closed. "Stop staring at me," he said.

She just smiled a little. "Staring isn't the right word," she said. "Try gazing."

"It's creepy," he protested, opening his eyes.

She rolled her eyes. "It's admiring."

"Try pedophilic," he suggested.

She pouted. "Try _romantic_!"

He paused, about to say something else, but he changed the topic. "What's that smell?"

She crinkled her nose, offended. "Well you don't exactly smell great, either," she said, hitting him lightly in the chest.

He rolled his eyes. "No you, Wise Girl. That smells like... Burning. Damn, I forgot the Pizzas!" He jumped out of bed and pulled some clothes on as he ran out into the kitchen. Annabeth's face fell into her hand as she remembered their dinner, the pizzas that had been in the oven for over an hour.

Luckily the place hadn't burned down. But Percy did come back into the room a couple minutes later with a black, smelly lump in the shape of a pizza. "One charcoal and olive pizza," he announced, holding it out for her. She had fully dresses when he was in the other room and was sat crosses legged on his bed with a folder out on her lap. "What are you doing?"

"Studying," she shrugged. "I have a paper to write already."

He looked at her as though she was crazy. "You're just going to switch from me to studying in like, two seconds? But I made you pizza!"

She looked up at him. "Throw it away!"

"But it was made with love!" he declared.

"And it's ruined," Annabeth said. "I have to go over all of these notes and write a 6,000 word essay by Wednesday. You're lucky I had time for you at all."

"Wow," Percy said, sarcastically. "I feel so blessed to be among your top priorities."

She rolled her eyes. "You _are_ among my top priorities," she said. "I had a free couple of hours. I could have spent them with Reyna or with Jason, or e-mailing Piper or my Dad. I could be in the cafeteria getting some decent food-"

"-Wow, Annabeth, tell me what you really think."

"-But instead I'm here with you," she said, ignoring his interruption. "You should be thankful."

He looked over into her folder and saw pages and pages of Architecture notes. "Annabeth, you've been to one lesson and you already have a whole folder of notes! What did you do? Copy down everything your teacher said and did? Did you write a book about the lesson? Am I in it?"

She gave him a condescending look. "Some of these pages are drawings," she said. "Of buildings. That's kind of what I do. And if I did write a book, you would be the star, so calm down."

* * *

 **A/N: I usually don't update this fast, but I just finished this so I figured, what the Hell? It's actually about 2am where I am (England) so I'm pretty tired. I have to get up at 9am as well so that's going to suck. There's some science behind this, but I'll complain about that another time. One of the first things you should know about me: I complain a lot.**

 **So this is rated T for a reason. I was considering putting it as M but then people would be expecting smut. But T stands for Teens, who should be okay with mature natures, e.g sex references, possible alchohol and drug references in later chapters. And swearing. Sorry if I put myself in there too much :D**

 **Updates won't usually be this fast. I've got this radio project thingy over the next week which is going to suck, but it's only for a couple of hours a day, so I should still be good for writing. This is my favourite story at the moment so...**

 **I understand that there wasn't much Jeyna dialogue in this chapter (not any, I mean), but there was some Percabeth to make up for it. Mostly Preyna and Jasabeth next chapter, I'm planning, but that might change.**

 **Thank you so much for the supportive and kind reviews! Those really make my day. Please leave a comment it means a lot. -Izzy**


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE:** _Books, Burgers and Bitching_

The cafeteria was a mess of angry students and loud complaining. There was about four or five lines to different food counters, all selling something different. Percy and Reyna stood together in one of the lines that had turned into crowds. They were stuck in the middle, unable to move as the amount of people had provided them with no personal space whatsoever. Some kids from the back kept pushing it, thinking it was funny or something. People would have started falling over except that there was no space to fall to as somebody's feet were occupying every space of floor.

"I'm going to die," Percy moaned, shouting over the noise of the crowd so Reyna could hear him. "Like literally. I'm going to die of asphyxiation."

"Big word," Reyna commented, proudly.

"Don't ask me how to spell it," he shrugged. "Next time we eat, can we just cook something? We have two kitchens at out disposal!"

"Yeah well it's kind of too late now," Reyna shrugged. "Every time I turn right, I have a pair of boobs slam into my face. Every time I turn left, some poor guy has no choice but to grind against my hand. There's no way out of this!"

"Look at you," Percy said, seeming impressed. "Getting some action."

Reyna just rolled her eyes. "I'm just saying, the only way out is forward."

Two of the lines had completely merged and for some reason, that made people angry enough to fight in the queues, pushing everyone off their feet, into each other, onto the floor. Some food worker called over a security guard to help with the mess and Percy's first impression of him was that he was pretty similar to Smelly Gabe. Smelly, rude, and carrying about five or six chins. "I'm going to walk in between these two lines," he announced the the crowd, some of whom had resorted to screaming. "I'm going to the front and anyone who bumps into me goes to the back of the line."

Percy and Reyna gawked. "That's the worst plan ever," Reyna said. "He's going to walk into a crowd and expect it to part like the two seas?"

Some of the kids looked mortified. "Bloody Hell, mate. He's going to take us _all_ out!" one of the exclaimed.

Reyna sniggered. "Hey," she scolded.

"He's just saying," Percy said. "He hasn't exactly got the right body type to walk into a cramped space and not expect anything to touch him."

The kid spoke up again. "Also, why is he walking to the front of the line, anyway? I think he's had enough."

"It sounds like you fat-shaming," Reyna commented, trying desperately not to laugh.

"I'm not," he said. Reyna knew the kid and knew he probably didn't mean any harm by it. Both her and Percy were trying not to burst out laughing. Dude was funny, doesn't mean he was kind.

"Well it sounds like you are," Reyna said. "He could have lost ten pounds last week. He could have some serious disease that caused his weight gain."

"Okay, I'm sorry," he said.

"Still," interrupted some scrawny ginger kid who had been eavesdropping on their conversation. "I'm not going to get food advice from someone whose chin tickles his nipples."

The security guard started walking between the two lines as Percy and Reyna pressed against the nearby wall, sucking in their stomachs and holding their breath, praying all the Gods that the damn security guard didn't slam into them. Everyone managed to part around him, but when he reached the front, he realised that the line just closed over after he went past.

They watched him rethink and come up with a new plan. "Okay," he boomed. "All freshman to the front."

"What?" Percy exclaimed. "Why are the freshman allowed to cut?"

"Percy-" Reyna tried to interrupt but he took no notice of her.

"I've been waiting in this line for a good thirty minutes," Percy said. "I'm sure as Hell not going to let some scrawny little newbie cut!"

"Percy-" Reyna tried again.

"No, this is not okay!" he insisted.

"Percy!" Reyna called. He turned to her and she hit him over the head. " _We're_ freshman!"

Percy paused. "Oh yeah."

They made their way to the front of the line and ordered a couple of burgers. Somehow they managed to get out without groping someone and they found a small but empty table in the corner of the room. The tables there were light brown squares with four black chairs around them. Percy and Reyna sat across from each other, inspecting the burgers they just bought. "Okay, so the food's pretty good," Reyna said, nodding.

Percy took a bite and picked at his fries. "Better than High School."

"So anyway," Reyna sighed. The two of them had decided to get lunch together as Annabeth and Jason were both in the Library and neither Percy or Reyna had anybody else to talk to. Libraries bored Percy and Reyna didn't want to run into Jason. "You were saying something about Annabeth? Before we even got in the queue? Sounded like trouble in paradise?"

Percy thought for a minute before remembering. "Oh yeah. Okay, so last night Jason pissed off to the library and Annabeth and I had the whole dorm to ourselves. After... well, you know – she just picks a folder and starts studying. Straight away!"

Reyna shrugged. "So? It's college. She's taking three classes and they're all pretty hard and come with a lot of studying and course work to do."

"Yeah but since then she hasn't had a spare second for me," Percy whined. "She'll let me sit next to her as she works, but I'm not allowed to talk! I love her and everything, so I kind of want to spend more time with her."

"Percy," Reyna sighed.

He shrugged. "What? I'm allowed to complain that my girlfriend barely speaks to me anymore."

"She's doing everything she can," Reyna said, sticking up for Annabeth. "She has a lot on her plate and she's trying to make time for you. Just calm down. Focus a little more on your studies."

Percy paused, sipping from his can of coke. "You're a good friend, Rey," he said.

"One of us has to be," she said, clinking cans with him.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Jason, you know you're in the wrong, and you know you were a douche," Annabeth sighed as her eyes skimmed through bookshelves. She found another interesting one of architecture and she added it to the pile of books she planned on renting. "Don't complain to me about your douchey behaviour."

Jason was on the other side of the bookshelf and Annabeth could feel him roll his eyes. "I know, okay? I know I've been a complete and utter dick. All I'm saying is that I wish I hadn't been."

"So why did you do it?" Annabeth asked, looking at him over the top of the bookshelves.

"I just..." Jason paused. "I had no idea what I felt for Reyna when I remembered her. But I didn't want it to interfere with what I had with Piper, because I love Piper. We all do crazy, stupid things for love!"

"Hm, I think you'll find that's an explanation of why you did it," Annabeth said, scrunching her nose in disagreement. "Not an excuse. Do you still have feelings for her?"

Jason paused. "Who? Reyna or Piper?"

"Reyna," Annabeth said, adding another couple of books to her pile. "Duh."

"No," he said. "I don't! Of course I don't I'm not trying to come home to Reyna and pick up where we left off. I'm coming home to Reyna and missing my best friend."

"And where did you leave off?" Annabeth asked him. "In the middle of slowly developing feelings for each other? And now they're all gone, right? Was it worth it? You ignored her to ignore you feelings for her, and it worked. Was it worth it?"

Jason paused, looking hurt. "Ouch," he said. "No, of course it was not worth it."

"Wasn't it?" Annabeth asked. "I mean, if you hadn't ignored her those feelings would have built up and built up over time and you'd probably be as in love with her as you were with Piper and you'd end up breaking one of their hearts either way."

There was another pause. "Okay, you seem to be backing me into a corner here," he said. "All the choices I make hurt people!" They were walking along the bookshelf on either side and they reached the end of it. Annabeth leaned on it and studied Jason, her eyes narrowed.

"Okay, I'm sorry," she shrugged. "I'm just trying to make sense of this all from every perspective. As a feminist, I'm kind of siding with Reyna on this one. But I can see where you're coming from. I mean, I think you're right about hurting people. No matter what you do, you're killing someone inside."

"Gee, thanks," Jason said, sarcastically. "Really helpful, Annabeth."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm just reading the facts. What do you want to happen?"

"I want Reyna to forgive me," he said. "I'm not going to defend what I did, and I know she has every right to hate me, but that's what I want. I want my best friend back because I've already lost so much!"

Annabeth sighed. "You lost Reyna long before you lost Piper," she pointed out.

Jason helped her carry all the books she wanted over to the nearest counter of the library. The whole section of the college was three tiers. It had a light grey floor, filled with silver technology and metal bookcases. One wall was entirely made out of glass and it was probably the most modern room in the whole college. The librarian checked them out of the library and Annabeth and Jason waited patiently.

"I love this place," she commented. "All the books are specialised to help with dyslexia. Is _everyone_ here demigods?"

"Well," Jason shrugged. "Some of them are Quarter God or as far as 10% God. Some of them are the grandchildren of multiple Gods. Everyone's got some Godly gene but it's not exactly a school purely for Demigods."

Annabeth nodded in approval as she admired the library. Jason had taken out a few books on Sociology. He couldn't leave the class until after the semester, so he might as well try to enjoy. He could always move away, give Reyna some space during the lectures. She deserved it... she deserved everything he could do to make it up to her and more.

"Wait, this library is closing down?" Annabeth exclaimed, interrupting his thoughts. He turned around to look at the notice Annabeth was gawking at behind the counter.

"Only for a couple weeks," the Librarian said. "The computers have had technical difficulties lately, so we're going to have to get them all checked over."

"But..." Annabeth sighed. "What if I want to come back and get more books?"

Jason looked at her and back to the pile of books she was taking out of the library. "How fast are you planning on reading these?"

She shrugged. "It'll only take a couple of days. Jason, watch these as I go and get a couple more."

He paused, watching her as she walked back to the bookshelves. "Are you an alien?" he called after her. "You _have_ to tell me if you're an alien." She ignored him as she went back into the shelves. Jason turned back to the Librarian who was looking very confused. Jason just shrugged. "She's an alien."

Annabeth couldn't fit all the books she wanted in her bag so the two of them ended up walking to her dorm room with them in her hands. "Reyna isn't in, is she?" Jason asked as they reached Annabeth's front door.

"No, she's having lunch with Percy," Annabeth shrugged. "You're safe. Now Grace, you need to stop obsessing over what you did to Reyna. You also need to stop obsessing over Piper."

"I'm not obsessing over Piper," Jason said.

"Really?" Annabeth said. "Oh so it's all good then? Do you have her phone number? I lost it so..." Jason repeated Piper's phone number off by heart before realising that it was a test. "Exactly," Annabeth sighed. "I'm going to help you get over you ex."

"You are?" he asked, doubtfully.

"Yup," she said, brightly. "And you're going to start by taking me to your dorm room and giving me everything Piper used to own."

"What?" Jason asked. "Why? Am I not even allowed to remember now?"

"That's the point," Annabeth said. "You can remember, but with your brain, not objects. Now come on, let's go!"

-0-0-0-0-0-

Reyna lay on her bed – the top bunk – at about 11:00pm at night. She had her laptop open and had started on some Multi-Media Journalism work. She had an essay to do already. Annabeth was on the bottom bunk, doing her own thing on her own laptop and the two girls weren't exactly talking. They had never been massively close before, but they were friends.

Reyna pulled out one of her headphones and called down to Annabeth. "Are you hungry?" she asked. She had had dinner a few hours before, but what could she say? She was a foodie. There was no reply so Reyna leaned over her bunk and dangling in front of Annabeth, upside down. "Hey!"

Annabeth turned to her, kind of shocked. She took out one of her own headphones. "What?" she asked.

"I asked if you were hungry," Reyna said. She paused, listening to Annabeth's music through her headphone. "Are you listening to AC/DC?"

Annabeth just rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know it's old-"

"I love AC/DC," Reyna interrupted. "And you are my new best friend."

Annabeth laughed, cocking her head at Reyna. "In terms of food, I think we have some Cup-A-Soup." Reyna shrugged, jumping down from her bed. She wore fairly dark, but floral, pyjama trousers in the form of jogging bottoms. She had an oversized black t-shirt with white numbers on it saying "22" like a hockey jersey or something. Her dark hair was up in a messy bun.

Annabeth climbed out and joined her, wearing a blue and grey stripey t-shirt that was definitely made for a man. She was so small in it that it almost covered her pyjama shorts and made it look like she wasn't wearing anything. Her blonde hair was loose and free.

They made their way into the kitchen and Annabeth boiled the kettle as Reyna looked around for the instant soup powder pouches. She wasn't a fan of instant food of any kind, but in college, with hardly any time to cook, she found herself living off the stuff.

"What other kind of music do you like?" Reyna asked.

Annabeth shrugged. "Anything, really. Often classical when I'm studying. But other than that it's a huge range. Anything from Taylor Swift to Green Day, depending on my mood. And any rock band from the late 1900's. Jason's sister, Thalia, sought of trained me into loving Nirvana, Queen, Kansas-"

"Like, _Carry on my Wayward Son_?" Reyna chimed in.

Annabeth almost dropped the spoon she was using to stir the instant soup. "You watch Supernatural?" she asked. Reyna beamed before nodding. "Dean's pretty fit to be honest," Annabeth laughed.

"Hm, I'm more of a Sam kind of girl," Reyna shrugged.

"Really?" Annabeth asked. "His eyebrows are kind of annoying me at the moment." The two girls paused, looking at each other before laughing at the stupid comment. Annabeth handed Reyna a mug of tomato soup which actually tasted pretty good, considering it came from a packet.

"His eyebrows are annoying," Reyna agreed. "Buffy's also good. Buffy the Vampire Slayer?"

Annabeth nodded. "The puns in that show completely kill me."

Reyna laughed, nodding. "The puns are terribly brilliant."

Annabeth paused before looking up at Reyna and smiling. "What did you say about being best friends?"

* * *

 **A/N: Again, I'm updating pretty fast at the moment. On this story anyway. I'm kind of in the half-term right now, so no school, but when I go back expect updates to come slower. Readers of my Better As A [] series, expect an update within the next few days. I have a lot of the next chapter written up, so that's almost ready.  
**

 **So that last scene. I own none of the songs/bands/shows mentioned. Obviously. But I should probably just say. I also don't own the characters. I kind of just wrote that last scene because I wanted a little fluff and a fairly realistic start to a friendship. They didn't have MUCH of a friendship in canon, but that's one of the reasons I started this story. The lunch line was based off a completely true story from my school. It sucked.**

 **You may or may not have noticed: I'm a little more focused on some Jeyna drama at the minute, but that will change. Soon some Percabeth plot lines will become more important than Jeyna plot lines. It switches and varies. I think I wrote Annabeth to be a little... Hermione-ish this chapter. Oh well.**

 **The Jeyna plot line as the moment is all I can really think about to excuse Jason's ignoring Reyna in HoO. They did used to be friends so he should've spoken to her. The only reason I assume that he didn't was because of Piper. Besides, when he first remembered Reyna it did say "he didn't know what he felt for her". I wanted to expand on that a little. Anyway, that's just my theory, and again - nothing about Jiper's relationship will be underestimated in this story. I just prefer Jeyna.**

 **Anyway, enough of that. Next chapter Jason and Reyna talk face to face.**

 **Thank you all again for such kind reviews. They inspire me to keep writing. Please let me know what you think and what I could change. -Izzy**

 _ **You can find update notices, sneak peaks, deleted scenes and teasers for this story along with (possibly) still gifs of scenes over on my tumblr, There I can also answer an questions or requests. Link should be on my profile if you want to find it, but if it doesn't work, PM me.**_


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR:** _No Shovel to Bury the Hatchet_

Jason made his way up to the dorm room after a full body work out. The college had the best gym Jason had ever seen and he had to do a few certain work outs and routines for his Fitness and Physical Activity class with Percy. He was soaking wet as he had just used the showers at the gym, but Percy had gone up to their dorm to use the shower upstairs.

When he went inside the dorm room, her heard the shower still going. He grabbed a few folders from on top of his desk and decided to get to work. He had a whole Sociology Essay to do by the next day and he had no time to do it in. He towel dried his hair for a minute before he heard something strange. It took him about a minute to realise that Annabeth was in the shower as well.

He never ran faster in his life, grabbing his stuff and leaving the dorm room. Call him squeamish, but he didn't massively want to be within hearing distance of Percy and Annabeth doing that.

He headed off to the library to read or do some course work before remembering that it was closed. He turned to the cafeteria before hearing the loud rumbles and complaints and he sighed. Yeah, he was never going to get any work done there. He paused, walking up to the only place he might possibly be able to be.

Reyna opened the front door of her dorm room and her face fell. "What do you want?" she asked him – the first thing either of them had said to each other in years.

"Can I sit here for a while?" he asked. "Percy and Annabeth are... doing things in my dorm and I kind of want to avoid that. The library's closed and the cafeteria's too noisy to get some work done."

"Don't you have headphones?" she asked.

Jason just shook his head. "I'll be quiet, I promise," he said. "It'll be like I'm not even here."

Reyna paused, pouting. "Fine. But only because I'm taking responsibility for my room mate." She stood to one side so Jason could walk in. He looked around the dorm room, the same model as his. Tiny kitchen to the right, bathroom to the left. He sat down on one of the barstools in the kitchen and put his folders on the counter.

"Thank you," he said.

Reyna shrugged. "It's fine."

She was taller than she had been when she was little. Well, of course she was, she was an adult now. She was tanner and her hair was maybe a shade or two lighter. She wore a plain white t-shirt tucked into light blue jeans. The whole outfit had dots of paint on it. "I'm actually going to get changed," she said. "Help yourself to some coffee or something."

She went into the other room and Jason started wishing he hadn't come. Maybe it was a cowardly thing to wish for, but staring into the face of his best friend who he hurt, he would've rather have been anywhere else. He pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to work, reading over the assignment a few times and highlighting the important notes – pretty much everything.

When Reyna came back into the room she had changed into darker jeans, a clean tank top and a light grey cardigan with higher shoes. She grabbed her bag and started looking around for some paperwork.

"Are you going somewhere?" Jason asked, out of curiosity.

She shrugged. "I have a Multi-Media Journalism class in about twenty minutes," she said. "I could make the walk last twenty minutes if I went really slowly..."

Jason sucked his teeth, getting the hint easily. She didn't want to be there. "I'm sure there's a million other people you would rather be talking to right now-"

"I could probably, _actually_ make a list of a million people I'd rather be talking to," she nodded. "Or I could skip the list and sum it up in four words: Everyone in the world."

Jason sniggered. "Maybe so. But if you made a list of acceptable apologies I could offer you, how many options would be on there?" he asked. She just looked at him and shook her head. "I doubt there's anything I could say to make things up to you-"

"There's nothing you can say," she said. "What, you and Piper broke up and suddenly you can talk to me?"

Jason sighed, his face falling into his hand. "That's not what I'm trying to do," he promised. "I just miss my best friend. Look, I know this doesn't mean anything to you but I know I'm in the wrong. Ignoring you was a dick move-"

"You didn't just ignore me," she said, slowly. "You destroyed me, Jason. You left, you got kidnapped, after everything we went through. You could have been dead for all I knew. I went out of my mind with worry. Literally, as some points I thought I might go crazy. I stayed up night after night I got barely any sleep, looking for you! Then I find you, safe, happy, healthy and you couldn't even say 'Hi'. And I had the whole camp on my shoulders, Octavian breathing down my neck, the cohorts wanting to march into war against the Greeks. And even then, I flew through storm after storm, across the world to help you. My Pegasus died because I was coming to save your ass, again. And even then I get no recognition from the guy who was my best friend for years. So no, I'm not taking any apologies."

He nodded. "I know. I know and you have every right to, but I still have to tell you that I'm so, so sorry. You don't know how much I regret hurting you. If I could start all over again I would change everything."

She leaned on the counter, her arms crossed. She didn't even look at him, but he saw her eyes glisten. He had only ever seen her cry once, when they were young, and that had made him cry. "I just have one question," she said, her voice as cold as ice and showing no hint of emotion. "Why? What did I do?"

He paused before telling her the same lame ass story he told Annabeth, about his conflicted emotions when he remembered her, about his love for Piper and his fear of losing that. "I know it's a terrible reason, terrible excuse. But you deserve to know. I lost you because I didn't want to lose Piper. Looks like I lost her anyway."

Reyna sighed, listening to everything he was saying but not responding. She ran her hand through her curly hair and faced him. "I always thought it was because of what I felt. But I didn't know how any of you could know about that."

Jason paused, his face falling. He looked up at her. "You had feelings for me?"

She shrugged. "I think maybe I did. But that was before I realised that you're not worth having feelings for."

"I'm not going to talk about any feelings at the moment," he said. "I just need my best friend."

"I don't want to be your friend," she said. "Not anymore. Not if this is how you treat them." She grabbed her bag and marched out of the dorm room, slamming the door behind her.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Reyna, wait up," came a voice from a little while behind her. She was hurrying to class, trying to forget everything Jason said to her. She didn't need to cry in front of anyone, and most of her energy at the moment was trying to preventing that. So when she thought it was him, calling for her to slow down, she was about ready to punch something – until she realised that wasn't his voice.

"Percy," she said, turning around as he caught up to her. "I thought you were busy... you know."

Percy paused before awkwardly shrugging. "You know how things are. Anyway, I really wanted to talk to you about something important."

"If it's Jason, I'm not interested," she said.

"Jason?" Percy asked. "What about him? I thought the two of you haven't spoken since he lost his memories?"

Reyna paused, realising that's not what Percy wanted to talk about. "Nothing," she said. "Forget I said anything. What's up?"

Percy eyed her suspiciously. "Okay, so I'm kind of worried about Annabeth," he said, moving on like Reyna hadn't spoken. "I know that most people are taking three subjects but hers are super hard-"

"Wait," Reyna interrupted, holding up a hand to stop him. "Her mother's Miner- sorry, Athena. You can _not_ be worried about anything to do with Annabeth and her academic life."

"I'm not," Percy said. "Well, not exactly. I know she'll succeed in everything she'll do, but I'm just worried that she's not making time for _her_ , is all."

Reyna paused, cocking her head at Percy. "Didn't the two of you _just_ do it?"

"Well yeah," he said. "But that's her making time for me. And I appreciate that she's doing that, I do. But I just want to make sure she's making time for herself and her friends as well."

Reyna laughed. "I think it's super sweet that you're worried about her," Reyna said. "But I'm pretty sure she's fine."

"She is?" Percy said. "The two of you are friends, right? How much time do you spend talking to her a day?"

"Like, a couple hours," Reyna shrugged. "At night. Then about half an hour in the morning over breakfast, half an hour for lunch, and five hours a week that we spend in Art and Design Class."

Percy closed his eyes for a minute. "Okay, so that's roughly, on average, about 3.7 hours a day," he said. Reyna's face fell, as she had spent the years since she met Percy thinking that he was an idiot. "Be honest, what's she doing for most of that time?"

"Well... studying," Reyna admitted. "Or eating!"

Percy rolled his eyes. "You and I both know that she reads as she eats," he said. "She's like the world's best multitasker. Reading, eating and talking. Props to her. But either way, I'm counting that time as work."

Reyna paused. "Okay, so she work's hard. It's college," she said. "We're all supposed to be working our asses off. Annabeth had high dreams."

"I know," Percy said. "And I support her, 100%. But I just want to make sure that she had time to relax. Even if she has time for me and you, she doesn't have time for that. And honestly, how much sleep does she get in a day?"

Reyna paused, wanting to answer that. But honestly, she always fell asleep before Annabeth and woke up later, so she had no idea how much sleep she got. "Well how much time does she spend with you?" Reyna asked.

"About an hour a day," he said. "And at least 15 minutes of that is spent studying. I know I'm probably being really irrational, but I'm in love, so it's what I do."

"What exactly do you want, though?" Reyna asked. "For her to study less?"

Percy paused, thinking. "I want her to have time for me, have time for you, have time for Jason, have time to sit, relax and do nothing. I want her to have enough time to eat without reading and go to college parties and get drunk, like we're supposed to. I don't want her classes to take up almost all of her time."

"Well it's not like she's studying with every second she has," Reyna said. "There's a dorm party tomorrow night. You should take her." Percy didn't reply so Reyna continued. "Look, it's adorable that you're worried about her. But she's probably trying as hard as she can to make time for everything. The classes that she's taking are quite challenging, but they're the ones she needs."

Percy nodded. "Okay. I said that I'm probably just being paranoid. But can you just watch out to see how much she's sleeping?"

Reyna nodded. "Okay. I will. Where's this paranoia coming from?"

Percy shrugged. "My girlfriend was sixteen when she was left in charge of redesigning Olympus. I've seen her over work herself and I just want to make sure that she's not doing that now. We're not in hell anymore, I want her to relax."

Reyna rolled her eyes. "You're adorable. Now leave, I have a class to get to." She shoved his arm and Percy started heading away before turning back to her.

"What were you saying before, about Jason?" he asked.

She paused. "Um, he came to my dorm room, because he didn't want to hear the repeat of the Percy and Annabeth show."

"He went to your dorm room?" Percy asked. "Does that guy have no tact? What did he say?"

She shrugged. "Something along the lines of 'Hey, can I sit here while Percy and Annabeth do the deed in my shower?'"

"No, I mean," Percy said, "well, I'm assuming the two of you argued, right?"

"Well of course we did," she said. "My best friend ignored me for years because he was afraid some minor feelings for me might get in the way of his true love."

"What?"

She shrugged. "That's the story he's tossing at me."

"Well..." Percy sighed. "Look, I'm not getting involved, I'm friends with both of you, and you have every right to be angry. But do know that he does _genuinely_ feel bad about what he did to you."

There was another pause before Reyna shrugged again. "So? I felt bad for years when I searched for him only to have him pretend that I didn't exist when I found him. He didn't care that I felt bad then, so why should I care if he feels bad now?"

Percy nodded. "Okay. Listen, you can talk to me whenever you want, okay? I'm always here."

"Same to you," she said as she escaped him for class.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Reyna had underestimated how late Annabeth stayed up. She was lying in the top bunk with four cups of coffee in her, struggling to stay awake as she heard Annabeth on the bottom bunk, tapping away at the keyboard of her laptop. She remembered what she promised Percy and wondered if it was bad that she was technically spying on her friend. No, Percy was just worried. And Reyna was beginning to worry as well as they neared 3am, and Reyna remembered that Annabeth had to be up at 7am.

"What are you doing?" Reyna mused as she peered down from the top bunk at the blonde.

"Writing a paper," Annabeth said. "I thought you were asleep?"

"I can't sleep," Reyna lied, forcing her eyes to stay open. "What paper?"

"Procrastination 101," Annabeth smirked. "Technically I'm doing an e-mail round to relatives and friends. I've also got _Tumblr_ up in the background. But I'm trying to get an Architecture paper finished. Or at least, the draft of one."

"Didn't you just finish an Architecture paper?" Reyna asked. "How complex is that subject?"

"We're doing bridges," Annabeth said. "Last paper was a comparison of Arch Bridges and Beam Bridges. This paper is Suspension compared to Cable-Stayed."

"That sounds awful," Reyna said. "Do you want to stop doing that and go to sleep? You have to be up in four hours."

"Yeah?" Annabeth asked, as if waiting for Reyna to get to the point.

Reyna narrowed her eyes, which was hard to do without them shutting and going to sleep. "When was the last time you slept?"

"Sleep," Annabeth said, "is for the weak."

"Annabeth, when was the last time you slept?" Reyna demanded, beginning to understand Percy's concern.

"I don't need sleep," she said. "Daughter of Athena, remember? I've got that whole 'owl' thing going on."

Reyna paused. "Okay, well if you insist on staying up, why don't we do something? I think I have _Rear Window_ in my bag."

" _Rear Window_? That old Hitchcock detective movie from the '50's?" Annabeth asked. "Sounds good. Watch it if you want. I'll listen to it in the background."

Reyna pouted. "Is there anything I could do to pry you away from studying?"

"Nope," Annabeth said, rather cheerfully.

"This is unhealthy," Reyna pointed out.

Annabeth just rolled her eyes. "It's college. I'm supposed to be studying a lot. Trust me, I'm fine."

Reyna paused, sucking her teeth. "Yeah, you are now. But what about if you continue to refuse sleep? How many hours a day are you studying, Annabeth?"

"I'd say more than a baker's dozen," Annabeth shrugged. "Look, I thrive on hard work. I redesigned Olympus, okay?" She trailed off, another thought coming to mind. "Did Percy say something?"

Reyna gulped. Okay, on the one hand she could say no and prevent Percy and Annabeth getting into a fight, or she could be honest. Tough choice. "No," she said. Annabeth just cocked her head and gave Reyna a look that said: _seriously?_ "No, okay?" Reyna insisted.

"You're lying," Annabeth said. "I can always tell when someone's lying. What did he say?"

"He..." Reyna paused. "Look, he just said that he was concerned that you were spending more time studying than you were... well, anything else. He doesn't want you to overwork yourself."

"And he thought the best thing to do was to talk to my best friend behind my back about it rather than confront me himself?" Annabeth asked.

Reyna shook her head. "No. Well, um... If you have a problem with that then maybe you should talk to him about it instead of me? He's just worried about you. And all Percy asked me was if you were getting enough sleep."

Annabeth paused, sucking her teeth before shutting down her laptop and pushing it to the end of the bed. She pulled her sheet up over her shoulders. "I'm sleeping now," she said to Reyna. "See? I'm going to sleep. Happy?"

"Are you mad at me?" Reyna asked.

"No," Annabeth said. "I'm not particularly mad at Percy either. I'll talk to him about it in the morning."

* * *

 **A/N: Hey all! I was planning to update this yesterday but I was soo busy and I couldn't get it finished in time. I'm not entirely sure about this chapter so let me know what you think.  
**

 **Thank you all so much for reviewing, it means a lot to me. Jason and Reyna will eventually become romantic in this story. The most realistic way to start them off after Blood of Olympus, for me, is a little bit of anger. I've always been annoyed that Jason didn't acknowledge Reyna in the books, and it makes sense to me that Reyna would be peed off about it as well. Eventually, however, they will become friends all over again, and get feelings for each other all over again. It's not like they're picking up where they left off. Until then, however, I don't see either of them having another love interest. But you never know, I might add more characters to add to the drama.**

 **Thank you all for following and favouriting, it always makes my dad. Please let me know what you think or what I can improve. It would mean a lot to me!**


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE:** _Trick Or Treat_

When they had first got to college, neither Jason or Percy had known what courses they wanted to take. They had went for Fitness and Physical Activity purely because they thought that it would be easy after their experience in the two camps and all that time they spent running from monsters. Unfortunately their insane coach worked them harder than they would have worked running for their lives, so Jason and Percy rebelled by not doing anything.

"Jackson," the coach called over. "Grace! Get up and run!"

Percy looked over from where they were sat, on the floor next to the vending machine, to the other side of the room. They were in the colleges gym and the rest of their class was beating it on the treadmills. "Nah." Percy called back. "It's so hot in here!"

Jason just reached up and inserted a coin into the machine to get another Kit Kat bar. That's all they did at the gym those days. Sat around and ate Kit Kats. "I'm really tired," Jason added.

"You two exercise like girls," the coach called over.

"Thanks," Jason sincerely called back. "Do you know that girl, Nicole Phillips in my Sociology class? I've seen her run 10 miles on a treadmill without a break. She's like a machine."

"Jason," Percy said. "He's trying to insult us! Why do you never pay attention when people insult us? It leaves all the work to me!"

"What work?" Jason asked.

"Like, thinking of a comeback and stuff," Percy shrugged.

The coach stormed over and looked down at them. "Get up! Now!"

Percy and Jason both replied at the same time, the same thing they said when any body asked them to do anything. "Dude, we saved the world, okay? Give us a break!" Percy said. At the same time, Jason said: "We literally saved the world. Chill!"

"Your effort has been appreciated," the coach replied after a pause. "But put in some effort now, please?! Just put the chocolate down!"

"I fell into hell," Percy said. "It was very traumatic! I deserve a Kit Kat!"

"Oh yeah?" The coach asked, nodding to Jason. "What's his excuse?"

Jason paused, finishing his Kit Kat as he looked from Percy to the coach. "My best friend fell into hell! This is comfort food!" Percy nodded enthusiastically.

"But he's out now-" the coach started.

Percy interrupted. "But we're both still traumatised by the experience! Can you give us a break please?" The coach huffed before storming off. Jason and Percy turned back to each other. "Anyway, what were we talking about before he so rudely interrupted us?"

"You and Annabeth," Jason reminded him.

"Oh yeah," Percy said. "Am I being a douche?"

Jason shook his head. "Nah, you're just worried about her. And if Annabeth isn't getting enough sleep and spending all her time studying, you're right to be worried. Hell, I'm kind of worried. Anything I can do to help?"

"There's a party in a couple days you could help me drag her to," Percy shrugged. "Get her away from her books for a bit to have some fun. Some lame Halloween party."

Jason paused, wondering how Halloween had come so quickly. He was pretty sure they moved into the college a couple days ago. But time flew when they were at college and September had turned to October in no time, and now they were facing November. "The two of you getting those cheesey couple costumes?" Jason asked, nudging Percy."

"Do you want to be the nurse or the doctor?" Percy asked back, winking at him. "Okay, so you've convinced me that I'm not being a douche. What about you? Aren't you going to ask me if you're being an ass to Reyna?"

"I already know I'm being an ass to Reyna," Jason said. "I don't exactly need you to remind me of that."

"Yeah, knocking on her door and asking to hang out there probably wasn't the best idea," Percy said. "Maybe go to the gym or something next time."

"Maybe you and Annabeth should go to the gym next time instead of in my shower," Jason suggested, shrugging.

"It's my shower as well," Percy reasoned. "Maybe you just need to buy some headphones."

-0-0-0-0-0-

"I had one class today," Reyna said. "And my Professor called in sick. I officially have a free day to do whatever."

"Got any good plans?" Annabeth asked. They sat together in their kitchen as Reyna made pancakes, but Annabeth was already tapping away at her computer.

Reyna shrugged. "Not really. Probably just watch something on Netflix. Have some lunch. Scheduling a nap at about 1pm."

"Your life is so boring," Annabeth answered, shaking her head at Reyna.

Reyna pointed to her. "The nap sounds pretty good to me."

Annabeth paused, finishing up something on her laptop before closing it and stuffing it into her bag. "I need to get to Advanced Mathematics," she said. "If you get bored, feel free to meet up with Percy to discuss my education again."

"You said you wasn't mad about that," Reyna said. "We're only watching out for you."

"I know," Annabeth said. "And I _love_ you for it. But honestly, I'm fine! I have to go. Have a great day napping."

"Wait," Reyna called as Annabeth reached the door. "There's a party on Halloween that Percy wants to go to. You in?" Annabeth paused, sucking her teeth as she turned back to Reyna. "We could get matching costumes?"

"I'm not sure if I can," Annabeth sighed. "I have one essay to right, I have to edit another and we got that project for Art and Design..." after a pause and a very judgemental look from Reyna, Annabeth sighed. "Okay, fine. But only if you'll shut up about my study routine."

"Fine," Reyna shrugged. After Annabeth left, it didn't take Reyna long to figure out what she was actually going to do with the rest of her day. She got changed quickly, grabbed her bag and walked through campus to the gym.

She loved gym machinery. She loved being able to control her work out instead of having trainers, like in Camp Jupiter during her time in the Legion, yell at you to do things differently. She plugged her headphones into her iPod and hit the treadmill, turning up the speed as she got into it until she was pretty much sprinting and hardly working up a sweat.

She wore leggings, sneakers and a sports bra and she knew that guys were probably staring, they always did, but it was more insulting that flattering. If she caught any of them, she would be sure to punch them, hopefully breaking their nose or something. She had gone straight to the second floor of the gym, seeing Percy and Jason's fitness class on the first floor and not wanting to run into one of them in specific.

It would surely lead to a fight and she was really not in the mood for that. Well, not a verbal one, anyway. A physical fight? Yeah, she could go for one of those. But she wasn't in the mood for confronting emotions at the minute. Unfortunately, her efforts were in vain.

Jason placed a can on the treadmill. "Your favourite, right?" Jason asked. She did notice one of the best energy drinks of all time facing her and she paused, turning suspiciously to Jason.

"What's this?" she asked. "The world's lamest peace offering?"

He shrugged. "It could be, if it would work," he said. "But I know it won't. I could wave a white flag at you?" Reyna didn't reply. "The drink," he explained, "is because you're running much lower than your record."

"Why is that any business of yours?" Reyna asked.

Jason shrugged. "I don't really know. Maybe I bought you a drink because I want to prove to myself that I still know you and if I know you correctly then I know – or hope – that maybe one day I can earn your forgiveness."

"Well it certainly won't come in a can of Energy Pop, that's for sure," she sighed, pulling her headphones out to actually talk to him. "I came up here to avoid you, you know."

"I know," Jason said. "I haven't quite figured out if me being here is persistence, or determination, or just plain stalking."

"I'd check the last box," Reyna said. "Anyway, what makes you think that I'm forgiving?"

There was a short pause as Reyna turned the speed up a little. Finally, Jason spoke. "Do you remember, when I was fourteen, I got my first girlfriend? Jenna, her name was," he said. "And she cheated on me and we broke up and you were just... there for me. And when Jenna tried to convince me that she had changed, you kept telling me not to get back together with her, that she would just cheat on me again."

"But you got back together with her anyway," Reyna recalled. "I remember."

Jason nodded. "Then she cheated on me again with Octavian, of all people. And when I came crying to you, you never said 'I told you so'. And I thought you would have been super mad at me for not listening to you. I thought you would hate me and that you would blame me. But do you remember what you said then?"

Reyna paused. " _Do you really think that you mean so little to me_ ," she recalled, " _that ignoring me would change anything?_ " It was scary, the line she repeated. How she had said it then, and repeated it now and it still worked, still fit with their current situation. Except it didn't. "This is completely different."

"I know," Jason said.

"We were fourteen then," she said. "It wasn't exactly the most dramatic time of our lives, Jason. Jenna had the brains of a ten year old and when she went up to Octavian, she kissed him once before running away."

"Still," he said. "I've made a million mistakes in my life, but you've always been there for me. And I couldn't return the favour. So I'm sorry."

"I know you are," Reyna said. "I do genuinely believe that you're sorry. I'm just not ready to forgive you."

-0-0-0-0-0-

"...suspends the roadway from huge main cables, which extend from one end of the bridge to the other. These cables..." Annabeth muttered to herself, reading a passage from an Architectural website. She groaned. Just because she loved the subject and loved studying it as often as she could did not mean she didn't occasionally get bored after writing like, the third essay about suspension bridges. Seriously. Was her teacher insane? The class had all kind of got the message.

Annabeth vaguely remembered when she went to an all girls school with Thalia years ago. Their class had been studying the two world wars and everything in between. They had done so many essay's on _The Treaty of Versailles_ that after even hearing about it they wanted to die. But, ask anything about the subject and Annabeth would be able to tell you. Those kinds of teachers were really good at drilling things into ones permanent memory, even if they did get bored easily.

The door to the dorm room open and Annabeth heard Reyna call out her name. "What?" Annabeth called back. She saved on of her essay's and changed the playlist on her iPod. Reyna burst into the bedroom, several shopping bags in hand. She dumped one on the end of Annabeth's bed. "What's this?" she asked.

"Open it," Reyna sighed, rolling her eyes.

Annabeth's eyebrows burrowed together. "Since when did you shop till you dropped?"

Reyna rolled her eyes. "It's not like I just got my nails done. Besides, most of these are groceries that I have to put away now. Unless you count extra mature cheddar cheese to be among the most glamorous things to buy?"

Annabeth sniggered and looked in the bag at the end of her bed. "I'm confused," she announced, pulling out a pair of strap on, feathery white angel wings.

"For the party," Reyna reminded her. "It's kind of Halloween today. You kind of have to dress up. They were out of gremlin costumes, which was unfortunate because I thought that would have been more fitting."

"Wow," Annabeth said, offended. "Ugh. Do I really have to do this? Why?"

"Three reasons," Reyna answered. "One) We've been at college for two months now and we haven't gone to one party yet. That's despicable and we need to put our studies aside to have fun. Two) It's Halloween. It's a time for celebration. Let's go out and party. Three) Our costumes match and I kind of need you to come with me."

"Our costumes match?" Annabeth asked as Reyna pulled a headband out of another bag and put it on, two red horns poking out from her dark hair. "Oh wow," Annabeth sighed, sarcastically. "Do I have to?"

"Yes," Reyna said. "You can be the devil and I'll be the angel if you want."

"No, I can be the angel," Annabeth sighed. "What time does it start?"

"Now," Reyna said. "But we don';t have to go for another hour or so."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Percy didn't really know what to expect. He had been to very few parties, most of which had been school dances. Some parts were similar. There were a few laser lights illuminating the walls with strange colours. Other than that, it was pretty much completely different. There were at least three people who were already passed out, two people were doing something they shouldn't be in the corner, and everybody seemed to be trying to find creative ways of drinking alcohol. If they weren't dancing to loud electronic music with very long build ups and disappointing drops. Everybody was dressed up one way or another. Most of the girls in 'sexy' costumes, including two sexy nuns and a sexy baby that made Percy shudder.

"Happy Halloween," Jason commented as he walked up to Percy. The whole party took place in some kid's dorm room and Percy stood by the kitchen, quickly sipping at a beer. Paul had let him have one once when he graduated High School so he wasn't completely new to alcohol. He didn't like it.

Percy looked over to Jason who was dressed like... "Dude, when I said you were a blonde superman, I didn't mean it!" Percy complained. Jason's costume was pretty simply a superman t-shirt and a red cloak with his usual pair of jeans. Percy just rolled his eyes at Jason's lack of creativity.

"I don't really like dressing up," Jason shrugged. "But you..." Jason could barely recognise Percy. He had done himself up as a zombie and it looked as though somebody had unzipped his face to a gory, bloody inside.

"It's Halloween," Percy defended. "You need to loosen up. Do you want to try drinking from a keg whilst upside-down?"

"I'm good," Jason said. Percy put his beer down. After only a few mouthfuls, he found the bitter taste to gross to continue drinking. Yeah, he was _that_ guy. "Annabeth's here," Jason pointed out.

Percy looked over to the door as Annabeth walked in, dressed as an angel with a halo and wings and everything. Reyna walked in behind her, dressed in red with horns and a red trident. Reyna walked straight to Percy as Jason walked away. "I'm going to need this," she said, taking his beer.

"I like your costume," he said.

She rolled her eyes. "I would much rather have come as Reyna, but I kind of needed matching costumes to ensure Annabeth would come. She would never leave me at a party with half a costume."

"You can be the devil without an angel counterpart," Percy commented.

"I know, but a devil and an angel was the only remotely matching thing the store had left," she complained. "But I hope you understand that I really don't want to be here. Especially not... dressed like Satan."

"Get over it, it's Halloween," Percy said. "Everybody dresses up and goes to parties on Halloween. Now if you don't mind me, I'm going to go dance with my girlfriend." He walked off towards Annabeth and Reyna leaned against the kitchen counter, feeling kind of awkward. The only reason she even agreed to go was because Annabeth needed to take a break from studying and she wouldn't have gone if Reyna didn't drag her. She was probably going to leave in a second.

"Ugh," she side as she put the rest of Percy's beer down. She had never liked beer. It was way too bitter. And Reyna didn't particularly like bitter. She had a sweet tooth for jelly beans or hot chocolate or brownies. Bitter wasn't exactly a word in her vocabulary.

"They have some champagne," Jason offered, leaning on the counter next to her. "It's a little nicer that beer."

"I'm okay thank you," Reyna sighed, not even turning to face him. She span her trident on the floor in boredom.

"I went to one of these with Piper," he sighed. "Before we were like, officially together, you know? Like, I had remembered everything, but I hadn't found home yet. And there was a small Halloween party held by some of the Hermes kids at Camp Half-Blood."

Part of Reyna wanted to tell him to go away, but another part of her couldn't. He was just kind of sad when he talked about Piper. And the part of her that used to be his friend didn't exactly want to walk away without making sure he was okay. "If we are going to talk," she said, "I will need that drink after all. Where did you say the champagne was?"

Jason almost laughed. Reyna figured he must have hated being at that party as well. The two of them had always used to sit out of Halloween and rate the costumes of strangers. She would've given a Jason a 4 or of 10. One point for the effort, three points for the irony. But if Piper had gotten him to a Halloween Party that he remembered with a smile, then she really must have been something special.

-0-0-0-0-0-

On the other side of the dorm, Percy had almost dragged Annabeth onto the dance floor. "For the record," she said, "I'm not here because I want to be."

"Why are you here then?" Percy asked.

"Three reasons," Annabeth said. "You make a hot zombie."

Percy nodded, smirking. "True. You make a hot angel."

"Which brings me onto my second reason," Annabeth said. "Reyna guilted me here by telling me she needed the other part of her costume that just happened to be me. I kind of saw right through that, for the record. But I'm here anyway."

"And the third?" Percy asked.

She rolled here eyes. "I know that you think I spend too much time studying and I'm here to prove you wrong."

"Well what are you going to prove to me instead?" he asked, smirking a little.

Annabeth paused, shrugging. "I don't know. That I can have fun? I guess..."

"If you know how to have fun at parties, then why is your dancing so half-assed?" he asked, sniggering. She hit him playfully on the arm.

"Don't judge my dancing," she said. "Like I said, I don't want to be here. I'd rather be... studying." Percy was about to say something but she cut him off before he could speak. "Studying is how I have fun! Work and architecture is genuinely fun for me."

"Okay," he said. "I believe you. But you need to do other things as well or you'll get stressed about it."

She paused before shaking her head. "Gods, you're annoying. You know, when I first met you I sometimes had daydreams about killing you," she said. "But then things came up and I procrastinated and it never got done."

"So it was basically love at first sight," he nodded. He fiddled with one of the feathers on her wings and sighed. She always looked like an angel to him. The fairytale kind, the gorgeous, breathtaking kind. But also in the way that angels were always meant to be seen. Intimidating and a little judgemental. He hoped he wasn't being judgemental by worrying about how much she studied. He was about to say something when he spotted Jason and Reyna, both of whom were actually laughing at something.

"When did that happen?" Annabeth asked.

Percy shrugged. "Who knows? I'm guessing within the last few minutes. By the way, you look really beautiful tonight."

She shrugged. "College party. Woo-hoo. Let's drink beer upside-down!"

Percy sniggered. "I know it's not the classiest date," he said. "But tomorrow we can leave campus and go into New Rome and get lunch. They have the best coffee shops as you may have noticed."

"If I have time," she nodded optimistically.

Percy resisted the urge to sigh. "If you insist on it being educational, there's a poetry reading at a coffee shop at 7pm tomorrow night," he shrugged. "Let's leave the drunken college part to Jason and Reyna and do something mature."

"Poetry readings aren't incredibly educational," Annabeth said.

He shrugged. "You can learn how many poems it take until I fall asleep," he said.

Annabeth just sniggered. "I love you, Seaweed Brain."

* * *

 **A/N: This chapter isn't particularly short, but it was intended to be longer. It was also supposed to be published on Saturday to match Halloween but things came up. More bad news: I regret to inform you that school started so I'm going to find that I have a lot less time to write. I apologise, but I promise that I'm doing the best I can with this story especially. If you read my Better As A Pair series, there will be an update coming hopefully tomorrow or Thursday.  
**

 **To the guest reviewer who suggested adding Michael Kahale: That's actually a really good idea. I'll write that in a little later in the story, thanks for the suggestion. And thank you so much for reviewing.**

 **Thanks to everyone else who reviews as well. It really makes my day. And to you guys who review almost every chapter (you know which ones you are ;)) Please leave a review before you go and thanks for following and favouriting! I love you guys! -Izzy**


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX:** _All I Want For Christmas Is You_

It felt as though, as soon a Halloween ended, Christmas began. Their professors started playing Christmas themed songs in class, Annabeth started renting Christmas movies and only a week after, New Rome was ready for the popular holiday. Lights swung from rooftop to rooftop, a small collection of Christmas Markets had been set up near the Coliseum. An enormous Christmas tree was put up outside the Forum. The weather turned cold very fast, and everyone found themselves wrapping up in coats, hats and gloves before going anywhere.

But still, it was hard to get into the Christmas spirit. The first college semester was over, and the real work hit them hard. Their teachers stopped being easy and started squeezing every minute of free time they had out of them. They poured every second they had into their studies; even Percy, who could be caught with his nose in a book, or bent over an essay, or typing something, almost every free minute he had, much to everyone's surprise.

So when the classes finally stopped for Christmas, on the 21st of December, they were all kind of shocked that they only had four days to get everything done. Percy and Annabeth got the worst end of that stick. They were road-tripping up to New York to spend the holiday with Percy's mother, Sally, so they didn't get any chance to spend a minute with Jason or Reyna.

"Annabeth, be heavier," Reyna complained. Annabeth was sat on top of her own suitcase, trying to get it to close as Reyna did up the zip.

"I'm trying," Annabeth complained. Reyna finally got the suitcase to close and the two girls sat down next to each other on Annabeth's bed. "Are you going to be okay?" Annabeth asked.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Reyna asked, yawning a little. Her studies had gotten to her, keeping her up at night and letting her get barely any sleep. She started to finally understand where Annabeth was coming from.

"Well I am leaving you alone here," Annabeth shrugged. "On Christmas. With Jason."

Reyna just rolled her eyes. "I'm a big girl, Annabeth. I'll be fine."

Annabeth just gave her a doubtful look. "Okay. But on Christmas Day, don't be too stubborn to see Jason. Company is Christmas."

Reyna sniggered. "The only way I'm spending Christmas Day with Jason," Reyna said, "is if he was visited by three ghosts during the night and comes at me in the morning with a better excuse as to why I should forgive him. Plus, a giant dead goose wouldn't go the wrong way either."

Annabeth laughed. "Okay. I just don't want you to be alone of Christmas."

"I'm going to be asleep for more of the day," she said. "And if not, I'll go and spend it with some girls from my Sociology class."

Annabeth nodded before hugging Reyna. "Okay. I love you, by the way."

Reyna hugged her back. "I love you, too. Have fun in New York with Percy, and send me lots of pictures."

Annabeth sighed, pulling apart. "Okay, I will. Gods, it feels kind of sad that my vacation is back home. You know where I would like to go? England."

"England?" Reyna asked, her eyebrows furrowing together.

Annabeth nodded. "Have you seen the London architecture? We saw Rome and Greece and a lot of Europe when we were fighting Gaia, but I want to see other places." Reyna just rolled her eyes. Always with the architecture.

-0-0-0-0-0-

How refreshing it was to have a Christmas that wasn't threatened by Titans or Gods or both or Monsters or something along those lines. It was a long drive to New York and road-tripping with Annabeth had to be one of Percy's favourite things. It took them a little under two days and they took shift driving. They stopped every lunch time and dinner time, usually at a truck stop or bar.

When night time fell around them they would push their seats back and curl up, covering themselves with sweaters and blankets as it snowed outside. "Baby it's cold outside," Percy muttered to Annabeth, in the middle of the night as they slept in the dark, cold car.

"It's cold inside," she answered.

They finally made it to New York, arriving at the little apartment Sally and Paul lived in. They dragged their bags inside and Sally didn't care that they slept in the same room.

They spent the next few days going to Christmas markets, splitting hot doughnuts and having pictures taken with Santa. They waded through the layers of snow that had settled over New York, holding hands through gloves the entire time.

Annabeth stopped at one little Christmas stool and admired something she was thinking about getting Sally for Christmas. Suddenly a snowball hit her back, getting in her hair and freezing the back of her neck. She turned around, almost growling to face Percy, who just shrugged adorably.

"And suddenly," she called to him, "New York is a battle ground. Again."

When they got back to Sally's they were covered in snowy mush and had to curl up in several blankets to keep from freezing to death. Sally and Annabeth had a great time picking on Percy the entire vacation.

Percy and Annabeth would be having some sought of debate in his room when they would hear Sally call: "Tell him to tidy his room!"

And Annabeth would stop what she was saying and look angry. "Percy! Clean your room!"

Percy taught Annabeth a new card game, where they basically had to try and put down a higher numbered. At the last round of the game, Percy put down a King and laughed at Annabeth, thinking he was unbeatable. "OOOH! Well that is a shame! Isn't that a shame?!"

Annabeth let him gloat with his victory dance before putting down her Ace, a card that was considered higher than the King in that particular game. "OH!" she mocked him. "Isn't that a shame?!"

They went out with Sally and Paul, and Tyson came along as they walked through central park. Annabeth always loved seeing Tyson, especially now since she could have a real conversation with him. He had the body of an eighteen year old Cyclops, but his mind was 9, unlike the 6-year-old mind she had first met. He was ever so slightly more mature.

Tyson bought a hot chocolate along the way, which he finished at around 9pm. The park was crowded with people, but he couldn't find any bins for his cup. "I don't want to carry this all the way back!" he complained.

"Ssh," Percy interrupted, taking the cup from him and placing it on the ground. "If we place it down and accidentally forget about it, it's not littering!" He straightened up and looked at the cup on the ground. "This is the bit where we all waddle away innocently."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Reyna's Christmas went a little differently. She didn't have cute snowball fights or presents under the tree. She was, for the most part, alone. She sat in a doorway, leading into the college courtyard, sat on the floor, curled up and looking out at the intense amount of snow that was landing on the grass. She watched it fall down, occasionally reaching out to catch a flake before it melted instantly in her hand.

After a couple hours, Jason sat down with her and leaned against the opposite side of the door frame. She ignored him at first before asking him what he wanted. "I didn't want to be alone of Christmas," he said. "I didn't want you to be alone either."

"I was thinking about visiting Frank and Hazel in the praetor's houses," she said, shrugging. "Nico's going to be there, so... You can come as well, they told me to invite you."

"Look, Rey..." he started, using her old nickname.

She interrupted him. "Not today, aright? Just quit it with the whole ' _I miss you'_ , thing. Because I really don't feel sorry for you at all." He shut up and there was another pause. They looked out at the falling snow together, sat alone in the door frame. "I don't like caring," she said. "When you left, got kidnapped I mean, I lost my freaking mind. I had to walk past your house every day and it almost destroyed me. Not because I had a crush on you, because you were my best friend. And then I saw you with Piper, which didn't bother me that much. Except from the fact that you didn't seem to care about me at all."

"I did," he said. "I do. I really am sorry, Rey. More than you could ever know."

"Yeah, well you took a really long time to miss me," she sighed. "Sorry, it's Christmas, I shouldn't be so bummed out."

Jason didn't reply. There was silence for another few minutes before Jason sniggered at something. Reyna looked at him, confused as she wondered what he was laughing at. He just turned to her and grinned. "Remember Christmas Day, three years ago?"

Reyna paused before breaking a smile, that turned into the tiniest of laughs. "What was that Dakota said? _That's not even how dictionaries WORK!_ " Jason laughed as Reyna quoted his old best friend.

"Do you even remember who he was talking to?" Jason asked. The line was still funny to all who had been there, but the rest of the memories was... mostly vague.

"I think it was Octavian," Reyna said. "He got so worked up over dictionaries." Jason laughed but Reyna continued. "Remember the ostrich injury? Three days later?"

Jason's face fell but Reyna kept laughing. "That was three years ago," he said. "Can we stop laughing about it now?"

The two of them kept sharing inside jokes until they were in hysterics when they showed up at Hazel's house. Frank and Nico were already inside and preparing Christmas dinner. The place was decorated very loosely for Christmas and Reyna went to help Nico and Frank in the kitchen, both of whom had no idea what they were doing. Hazel poked Jason and nodded to Reyna.

"You two seem to be getting along much better," she said.

Jason nodded. "Yeah, I think we are. She still hate's me and all, and she has every right to."

Hazel nodded. "Yeah, she hates you. Because she doesn't hate you at all." Jason genuinely had no idea what Hazel meant by that, but he chose to ignore it and enjoy the rest of Christmas.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Percy and Annabeth returned home after New Year. Annabeth was surprised that Jason and Reyna weren't exactly bickering anymore. Well, they weren't actually talking at all, but at least it was improvement. Classes started the week after and everyone fell back into their same old routine, except a little more organized as the holidays had given them time to regroup.

"It was perfect," Annabeth was telling Reyna one evening in the dorm room. "It was calm and we weren't really in danger and it just made a nice change to relax and enjoy some peace. How was your Christmas?"

Reyna paused. "Complicated," she said. "I argued with Jason while we watched the snow and ended up reminiscing on lost inside jokes."

"Sounds angst-full," Annabeth commented.

Reyna shrugged. "We had Christmas dinner with Frank and Hazel and Nico afterwards and that was fun."

Annabeth sighed and Reyna could feel her rolling her eyes. "I missed you, Rey."

"I missed you too," Reyna said.

* * *

 **A/N: I know this chapter is tiny but it really just here to get Christmas out of the way. I could write chapters upon chapters about Christmas, with a thousand little traditions and fluffy scenes, but I won't, and you guys will know why soon.**

 **So I've made a fanfiction plan for all of my stories and this is one of the only two (along with my Jeyna series) that will continue on into 2016. If it seems like I don't have that much time for it nowadays, or don't update that often (SORRY) I'll have a lot more time after Christmas.**

 **Thank you all for bearing with me, and for reviewing. Please keep commenting, I love reading what you guys think. Sorry again about the short chapter but I promise the next on will come sooner. -Izzy**


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER SEVEN:** _Don't You Worry, Child_

Christmas ended and college picked up again, the work was piled on them, folder after folder, essay after essay. Annabeth had taken up environmental studies along with her other subjects, so she was swamped in work.

Jason and Reyna had almost become friends again. Reyna had almost forgiven him, but her stubborn self was not exactly ready to eat marshmallows and braid hair with him yet.

Even Percy was getting stressed, up to his ears in work for his own subjects. Neither he or Annabeth would have time for each other if they didn't study together.

Annabeth was already sat at the back of the lecture hall when Jason walked in. He came to sit next to her and looked at her hand, which was tapping at the speed of light. "Are you okay?"

Her head snapped around to face him. "Fine. I'm fine." Her tapping decreased but didn't stop.

The last of the students filed in and Annabeth crinkled her nose at something. "What is it?" Jason asked.

Annabeth nodded over to one of the students who was walking up to one of the stairs when she noticed Annabeth. "Annabeth!" she said, delighted. "How wonderful to see you!"

Annabeth faked a smile back. "How odd for me to be in the lecture hall for one of my classes!"

The student rolled her eyes before holding her hand out to Jason. "I'm Camilla, by the way," she said, beaming. Jason took her hand and shook it. She was about their age, with thick, curly light brown hair and black eyes. "Call me Cami."

"Jason," he said. "Nice to meet you."

"I know who you are," she said, rolling her eyes. Jason looked a little confused. "You were praetor for months! Then you went missing and then you saved the world. I'm not new to New Rome, you know!"

"Oh, right," Jason sighed, nodding.

"So, Annabeth," Cami said. "A little birdy told me you took up your fourth subject. How's that going? You must be getting so stressed, I can understand that too many subjects can be quite burdensome for some."

"It's going great," Annabeth said. "Easy as pie."

Camilla nodded. "Good for you! I just took up my fifth subject, and I'm thinking about applying for one more. It can be a little tricky, so you might want to stick to your four, but the really advanced people thrive on trickiness."

She walked away and Annabeth clicked her jaw, her grey eyes looking stormy and dark. "That was rude," Jason commented, turning a little to Camille who decided to sit at the front of the classroom.

"I hate her," Annabeth said, turning to the front of the classroom. "She's our age and she came up to this college with the dream to be top of every class. And she's in every one of my classes because, guess what? She wants to be an architect!"

"So she has high hopes," Jason said. "And well... Is a bitch. How come you're only telling me about her now?"

"Because I'm a big girl who can handle her own problems," Annabeth said. "Gods, she's only a bitch because I'm smarter than her. And because she has a crush on Percy. Basically, I have everything that she wants."

"She has a crush on Percy?" Jason asked.

Annabeth shrugged. "I've seen her look at him," she said. "In an admiring way. Do you remember her? She was one of your soldiers for a very long time."

Jason shrugged. "First Cohort. Daughter of Nemesis. I think she used to have a thing with Octavian."

"Ugh," Annabeth said, again. "Wow, she just keeps getting worse and worse. But at the same time, better and better at all of her subjects. She getting equal or better grades than me and she's totally going to pass the exams with higher scores than me... and then my mother's going to be super unhappy that I was beat by some Nemesis Bimbo." She said all of this pretty casually but Jason was worried.

"I think you're over thinking this," he said.

"Yeah, well what do you know about it?" she snapped, facing him angrily. She paused before sighing and leaning her head back. "I'm sorry. I'm just stressed and... my head hurts and I'm dizzy and I stubbed my toe like, three times this morning. It's really not my day."

"Here," Jason said, handing her some aspirin out of his bag. "Sounds like a hangover. College party last night?"

"No," she said, almost laughing. "No, nowhere near enough time for that."

Jason was about to reply when their professor walked in and started the lecture. Jason and Annabeth wrote books full of notes before it ended. They left the classroom as Camilla stayed behind to ask for extra-credit.

"Do you want to do something today?" Annabeth asked. "Percy and Reyna are still in lectures."

By some instinct, the two of them automatically moved to the library. It was quickly becoming Annabeth's favourite place on the whole campus which she had no regrets about. The bottoms floor was like the lobby. They had a few computers scattered around the place, machines to use to check out the books, a couple of librarians, receptionists and guards. There was even a miniature snack-bar to one corner, selling sandwiches and drinks for everyone, who sat on seats from dining table chairs, to armchairs to bean-bag chairs.

But the second floor was Annabeth's favourite place. It was a silent study place so everybody was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. There were bookshelves so high the reached the ceiling, stacked with every book you could think of. Even old, broken ones that were written in the 15th century. Even copies of famous scientist's diaries in their native language that needed to be translated. Every book had special fonts and help guides for dyslexic students (the majority of students), except for the super old, original books. But the librarians had the help guides for them packed away, if they ever were needed.

Annabeth was beginning to love New Rome, not only the perfect systems, courses and architecture, but for the fact that if you took one simple photograph, of anywhere in the city, it would turn into a really artistic piece.

But it was sad to see students, sitting around in low chairs, their eyes red and puffy, bags under their eyes that suggested they hadn't slept – stressing over their studies. And they seemed to be everywhere.

"Smell this book," Annabeth whispered to Jason, holding out one of the really old ones that was falling apart a little. They were among the high shelves in the library and nobody was really around, so they felt free to whisper a little.

Jason paused before smelling the book and he forced back a cough. "I can't breathe through that dust!"

"Nonsense," Annabeth said. "It smells delicious."

"Nerd," Jason commented.

Annabeth scrunched up her eyebrows. "You're only getting that now...?"

The two of them found a table to sit at and they spent most of their day studying. Reading, translating books, writing down a few notes for some of the many essay's they each had going. Jason looked up at one point and whispered to Annabeth: "How are you even taking four subjects?" In a normal college, he was aware that you could take like, one, maybe two of you weren't busy.

"This is a demigod college," she whispered back. "All I had to do was tell them I was Minerva's kid and they let me. I don't even know how Camille's doing five."

"But isn't all of your time dedicated to your work?"

She shrugged. "My mother is Athena. It's a lot easier for me than it would be for other's."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Reyna was on the verge of collapsing. She reached the end of the track for the fifth time and rested her hands on her knee's, panting heavily. She was in the college campus gym. It had four floors: the first two were dedicated to equipment like treadmills, weight-lifting machines, ect. The third floor had about three indoor courts that could be used for football, soccer, tennis, ect, and needed to be rented out by people who wanted to use them.

Reyna was on the fourth floor, which was kind of like a balcony, circling the walls about the courts below, so she could look over the edge and see some people playing their games. It was made into a 400 meter running track that she had just finished running for the fifth time.

"You done there?" Percy asked, sarcastically. He stood next to her, also sweating and panting. They had ditched their lectures for the day and had been racing each other. They seemed to take it in turns winning and Percy had just won the last round, so he was cocky as ever.

"I could go all day, Jackson," she said, straightening up and beginning to stretch for the next race. "That's three for you, two for me... best out of seven?"

He rolled his eyes. "We agreed best out of five and you lost," he said. "I would call you by your last name but it's so long and I don't even know how to pronounce it."

"It's easy," she said. "Your maj-est-y." She said each syllable loudly and clearly, as if in an attempt to pronounce her surname.

Percy just sniggered. "Who's arrogant now?" he asked. "Okay, okay. Best out of seven. If I win, I get to throw rotten tomatoes at you in the courtyard of the campus so everyone can see."

Reyna shrugged. "Fine, no pain, no game. If I win, you have to run through the college in nothing but your underwear. And a bra."

Percy laughed. "You're really going for it, huh? Or is this just an excuse to see me half naked?"

"You're half naked right now," Reyna reminded him. Percy looked down at the jogging trousers he wore along with no shirt.

He looked back up at her. "Touché. Let's just race already."

The took off sprinting around the track for the sixth time, feeling their muscles burn and sweat pour. "How's you and Annabeth?" Reyna called over the noise of their feet hitting the squeaky floor.

"It's all good," he called back, somewhat amazed that they can keep up casual conversation as they fought the stitches in their sides that were killing them. "As ever. What about you and Jason?"

"What about me and Jason?" she called back.

"Well you asked about me and Annabeth, so I'm asking about you and Jason."

"Yeah, but I asked about you and Annabeth because you're a couple," she paused, concentrating on her breathing. "Jason and I are civil acquaintances."

"Please," Percy scoffed. "Nobody knows either of you better than you know each other; you're not acquaintances."

They were silent until the reached the end of the track. They both collapsed that time and just lay down panting for a minute. Reyna could hear the blood rushing around her head and felt mildly like her guts were being mangled. 2400 meters in less than an hour and a half... That had to be some sought of record?

"Okay, I'm done," she groaned to Percy. "I'll forget the bet if you do."

"Deal," Percy groaned. Somehow they rolled or crawled into the elevator and managed to make their way down to the bottom floor. They had a little snack bar that they bought water from. One thing Percy loved about New Rome's college? They had Dam Snack Bars everywhere. "But seriously though," Percy said. "What's the deal with you and Jason? Do you still have feelings for him?"

"No," she said, instantly as she found a chair to collapse into. "Of course I don't. But he hasn't spoken to me for ages which is not something I can just forget. Percy he was my best friend! He didn't even look at me."

"He did," Percy said. "You know his reasons, right? He told you, he told me, he told Annabeth. We all know he's in the wrong, even he knows it. But he ignored you because he had feelings for you and he didn't want that to interfere with what he had with Piper. And it was wrong of him, we all know and we're all past that. But I noticed, when he was ignoring you, at least three times, I noticed him look at you when you weren't looking at he was in pain."

"What's that supposed to prove?" she asked. "I was in pain too, okay? If he really knew me as well as you say he does then he would've noticed. He would've noticed that I had no one. I had to run the camp all by myself during an uprising. I had to fly through storms that killed my Pegasus – for him. It was all for him and he didn't say thank you. He would have seen that I was completely falling apart without him! So no Percy, I don't plan on making up with him any time soon. We can't just go back to the way things were like nothing changed."

"Okay," Percy said, instantly. "I just thought you should know. You have to understand that it wasn't exactly a picnic for him. He did feel bad."

"I don't care if he felt _bad_ ," she snapped.

"I know," he said. "And you have no obligation to care. I just thought you should know."

Reyna was about to reply when another voice chimed in. "Reyna?"

Reyna turned away from Percy to look behind her at an old friend. "Michael," she smiled. Michael Kahale, an old soldier of hers. He had sought of sided with Octavian during the war but he had his doubts. And on some level they had always been friends.

"Hey, I didn't know you hit college," he said, ordering a smoothie from the snack bar. Reyna looked down at herself momentarily. Loose grey tank top, tight black leggings, sweaty face and hair in a braid.

"Yeah, I started in September," she said. "You?"

"Yes, same," he said. "Better than coming in mid-semester. You look like you just er... worked out?"

She paused. "Fine line between work out and torture," she laughed. Michael joined in and Percy kept looking between the two. "I want to die."

The two of them spent a few minutes catching up on different courses before Michael turned to Percy and held his hand at. "Percy Jackson, right?" he asked. "Michael Kahale."

"Hey," Percy said, holding his hand out and shaking Michael's.

Michael paused before nodding. "Okay, so I should head upstairs. I got a soccer game to win." Reyna waved to him as he headed off.

"He seems nice," Percy commented.

Reyna shrugged. "Nice heart, bad decisions. Anyway, whilst I have you here, there was something I genuinely wanted to talk to you about."

"Shoot," Percy said, pulling a t-shirt out of his bag and pulling it over his head.

"Remember when we were all concerned about Annabeth not getting enough sleep?" Reyna asked. "Because she was studying too much? And, you know, not _really_ eating?"

Percy looked up, suddenly on alert. "Yeah...?"

"I don't think Annabeth's been sleeping at all," Reyna said. "I stayed up very late a couple nights ago because I had been drinking too much caffeine and had an essay to finish. I got to sleep at 4am and woke up at seven, and Annabeth hadn't moved a muscle."

Percy paused. "So... you think she's not sleeping at all?"

"I don't," Reyna said. "I've never seen her fall asleep or wake up. And Percy, it's dangerous. Any reason she's staying awake isn't a good one. You know Annabeth better than I do so I thought you'd..."

"I would what?" Percy asked.

Reyna shrugged. "I don't know! Know what's happening? What she's doing? If you know how to help her, please tell me now! Do you think she's maybe... taking anything?"

"What like, a study drug?" Percy asked. "Rey, I've taken study drugs! I'm prescribed Adderall for my ADHD. I know for a fact that Annabeth's got the same prescription."

"I know," Reyna said. "But maybe she's-"

"OD-ing?" Percy asked. "She wouldn't. That's just not her."

"I'm not saying that," Reyna said. "I'm saying that maybe they're affecting her sleep and she's not... trying to stop it."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Annabeth sat awake in bed, her heart pounding in her chest and she finished editing another essay. She saved that and bought up another one for another course, bringing out a textbook where pretty much, every line was highlighted. Gods her mouth was dry. She took another swig from the bottle of water sat on her bedside table as she tried to think about environments, while trigonometry still bounced around her skull.

Reyna was fast asleep on the top bunk and Annabeth had been trying not to wake her, as well as trying not to avoid the clocks. The last thing she needed was more worry wrapping around her brain, especially about something as trivial as her health. It wasn't exactly helping that there was a tiny clock at the bottom of her computer screen, begging her to look at the numbers 05:03am.

"Shit," she whined as she pushed herself out of bed and walked into the on suit bathroom, opening the little cupboard above the sink. She found the little tub with her Adderall in it and swallowed two pills before slashing some water on her face. Her blonde hair was looking particularly flat lately and was up in a ponytail. She looked, guiltily at the scaled next to the bathroom and remembered that she had involuntarily lost a few pounds. That was simply a side-affect of Adderall and she shouldn't worry, she'll gain it back with time.

Her ADHD medication was the same dosage she had been taking all of her life and it had accidentally started keeping her up at night. Secretly though, she didn't exactly have a problem with it. It meant more study time, and more chance of passing her classes so she wasn't exactly going to complain.

Also, deep in the cupboard, she had a few things of concealer. Everybody knew she didn't wear make-up, or at least wore the bare minimum when she wore any. She had never worn concealer until she had bags under her eyes that she needed to hide.

Okay, so her ADHD was bad at the moment. That didn't mean anything, right?

* * *

 **A/N: BOO! I can't remember how long ago I updated this but I feel like it may have been too long?**

 **Anywho, just a few notes: I said I would bring Michael Kahale into this story and I sought of just reminded myself (and hopefully all of you) that he exists. I'm not really going to do anything with him over the next few chapters because they're pretty much Annabeth-centered. YES I have them all planned out and they are super dramatic an angsty.**

 **I also figured that this story needs it's own villain, which every story does. If you're a reader of my Jeyna series, you'll know of my OC Lillian, well let me introduce Camille. She's going to be an utter psychopath. It's going to be brilliant.**

 **So I may have been innactive lately and that's for three specific reasons: 1) I am getting a new laptop soon (it's so fancy and new and my Nan's buying it and it's going to be so good and I'm so excited) and I'm trying to organise what I need to transfer from this computer to another one. 2) It's almost Christmas and I'm flipping out about it because I'm so excited Santa is coming guys! Anyway, I'm kind of busy with Christmas shopping and stuff.**

 **AND NUMBER THREE WHICH I HOPE WILL INTEREST YOU GUYS: Set in the year 2025 Jason, Reyna, Percy and Annabeth reunite for Christmas at Sally's beach house. They're in their early thirties, they bring the kids, and they have six days to prepare the place for Christmas. That's right, I'm writing a Jeyna/Percabeth Christmas story and I'm just preying that it will be done in time. It should be published on the... 17th, I think? Meh. Anyway, you've seen It's Called College, now prepare for It's Called Christmas.**

 **This chapter was physically exhausting to write because I have a terrible migraine coming on, so pllleeaaassseee review! It's seriously like a drug to me. Please tell me what you think. -Izzy**


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER EIGHT:** _Intervention_

January turned into February, which turned into March. Annabeth just got worse and worse. She had come to terms with the fact that maybe her medication was becoming stronger than she needed but she tried not to let that bother her. She had become top of the class in every subject, kicked Camille to the ground and was feeling confident about her grades. All because she had some extra time to study.

But she was tired. All the time because of the lack of sleep. Her eyes were lifeless, her hair had lost all volume. She was pale and she had lost weight. She was so dizzy, all the time and her head had a constant ache. It was everything she wanted and everything she didn't. Percy eventually spoke to her about it, and it didn't end well.

"I am not a drug addict, Percy," she said, coldly through gritted teeth. They stood in her dorm room and he couldn't help but notice how sick she looked. She wore a t-shirt and leggings and her hair was falling out of a messy bun. Her eyes had dark bags underneath them and her skin was as pale as Nico's.

"I'm not saying you are," he said, holding his hands up in surrender. "Annabeth, none of this is your fault-"

"Okay, let me stop you there," she said. "Even if I was addicted, which I'm not, it still wouldn't be my fault. Addiction is nobody's fault, okay? And it's my prescribed medication-"

"Annabeth," he interrupted. He put his hands on her shoulder and knelt down a little to look her in the eye. "You haven't slept for 84 hours! Your medication has become stronger than you need and that's not your fault, but these things happen and it needs to be-"

Annabeth shrugged him off and snapped. "What do you know about it? Huh?"

"I have ADHD too, remember?" he said. "I know what you're going through-"

"You don't know anything," she said. "I'm not going through anything! I've pulled a few all-nighters to catch up because I'm taking a lot of classes! And if you're such an expert on ADHD, then you should know that sometimes it's good and under control and the worst thing that happens is that squirrels become particularly distracting. But sometimes it gets bad but it's still under control so I'm not going to stop taking my medication!"

"It's the _medication_ that's the problem here," he said. "Not the solution! I have ADHD, Jason and Reyna both have ADHD, along with pretty much every demigod in existence! But all of us are getting enough sleep!"

"Well hurray for you!" she yelled. "That is your business and not mine. I can handle myself." She turned away from him and ran her hand through her hair.

Percy paused before continuing in what was clearly supposed to be a careful tone. But instead came off as deadly and serious. "Annabeth," he said, sounding dangerously calm. "You are taking four college courses. Four! I'm taking two – Gods know why – and I'm struggling because that's more than average. Most people take one and they struggle. You're taking four!"

"They're the ones I need," she snapped, turning back to him, her eyes glistening slightly but still full of rage. "They're the ones I need to pursue the career I've always dreamed of."

"You do not need all of them," he said, the volume slowly rising. "You redesigned Olympus for Gods sakes! Do you really need top take Architecture?"

"YES!" she yelled. "I do! Because I can't put on a resume that I redesigned a mythical place that people believed in 2500 years ago! I _need_ the degree."

"You can take the exams and get the degree without having taken the course," he yelled.

"Yeah, but that will cost!" she exclaimed. "I don't have that money to blow, I'm barely paying for food! I'm not going to drop the courses that I need just because of my ADHD! I will not be a victim, Percy. That's not who I am!"

He paused sucking his teeth. "Are you really taking these courses for your career?" he asked. "Or are you taking them to prove a point?" Annabeth paused before looking at him, confused. "Jason told me about Camille."

"I..." she gulped, choking a little. "I'm not working to prove something to anybody but myself!" She paused again and her voice became slightly panicky. She was shaking and so was her voice. "I'm not high, okay? You just don't see..." it began to sound like she was choking back a sob and Percy just wanted to wrap his arms around her. But he knew she would push him away so he didn't. "You just don't see that I... I can't deal with this," she said.

It wasn't what she intended to say, but it's what she said. She went to grab her bag from the counter, probably to storm out on Percy. But she grabbed it by the wrong end and everything fell out. Books, papers, a tube of mascara, a half-eaten packet of biscuits, and at least three bottles of Adderall.

Annabeth gasped and covered her mouth and Percy just looked at the drugs. "Why do you have so many?"

"I get the in advance," Annabeth whispered. "I take them over time."

"And you _carry them around with you_!?" Percy yelled.

Annabeth let out a strangled cry. "Percy please!" she begged. "Just please, don't shout at me!"

Percy sighed before turning on his heel and walking out. Annabeth found herself on the floor, leaning against the kitchen counter and forcing back tears. She wasn't going to be one of the pathetic girls who sat on the floor and cried over some guy. No, if she was going to cry about anything it was going to be about the fact that... He was right.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Annabeth found herself sat in bed once again, after taking her prescribed dose of Adderall. It was late. At least 4 in the morning and she had just completed a 20,000 word essay on some form of Advanced Mathematics. Although she mildly forgot why they were writing essay's about Maths...? Oh right, it was like, the theory of pi or something.

She sighed and ran her hand through her hair. Her eyes were red and Reyna was asleep and she was so tired. Not just physically. She was just so tired of everything and everyone.

Her face fell in her hands and she paused for about thirty seconds before looking up and gasping slightly. She wasn't looking at her dorm room anymore, she was looking at her lecture hall for Architecture 101. She looked down at herself. She was still in pyjamas, like nothing had changed. Her laptop was still in front of her and it was just like she changed backgrounds.

"Oh damn," said a voice at the door. She looked down at Camille, who stood their watching Annabeth. "You got here before me. One point for the blonde."

Annabeth paused, watching her as her high-heels clicked on the floor due to her lightly walking up to take a seat next to Annabeth. She was looking pretty smart in a navy pencil skirt and white blouse. Her black hair was curled perfectly.

"Is this a dream?" Annabeth muttered.

Camille just laughed. "No! Oh my Gods, did you sleep walk here? That's hilarious. Oh, nice hat by the way." Annabeth looked down at her desk, where her blue Yankees cap was sitting next to her computer. It had gotten it's power back after she defeated Arachne, but she hadn't used it. "How did Terminus let you have that in the city?"

"He didn't," Annabeth mused, remembering the statue confiscating it when she entered the city.

Camille tapped her nose. "You're secret is safe with me."

Annabeth paused before letting her head fall in her hands. "You promise this isn't a dream?"

"I promise," Camille said, reaching into her bag and pulling out a bottle of something before handing it to Annabeth. Aspirin. "Here," she said. "Whatever devilish hangover bought you here, it's got to hurt."

She took the medication without much thought and leaned back in her chair. "What time is it?" Camille checked her watch and smiled at Annabeth.

"Only 8am," she said. "09th of March, 2012, in case you were wondering." She put her tablets back in her bag and sighed. "Adderall? I don't have ADHD so I don't take the stuff, but a lot of my friends do. Unfortunately, I was too unlucky."

"You want ADHD?" Annabeth asked, raising an eyebrow.

Cami shrugged. "At the end of the day, ADHD is what's going to keep you alive in battle. But I suppose I've never been much of a head-on fighter."

"You're a demigod," Annabeth reminded her. "Isn't it sought of in the job description?"

"My mother is Nemesis, Goddess of Revenge," Cami said. "If I wanted revenge I would take it. But everyone seems to think the best form of revenge is violence, to beat someone down. I take a more emotional form of revenge. I'm manipulative, sneaky. If I wanted revenge, I would take it served cold, in the most humiliating way there is."

Annabeth raised her eyebrows. "Dark."

Cami just laughed and put a hand on Annabeth's arm. "Oh don't worry, you're safe. In fact, I've been meaning to talk to you." They were alone in the lecture hall, almost half an hour before the professor would even arrive, so they had privacy.

"Shoot," Annabeth said, wanting nothing more than to go back to her dorm room and get changed. But she was feeling too dizzy to even think about getting up so she remained sat, even if that meant having to listen to Camille.

"I'm not an idiot," Camille said. "I think we've both established that. I know who you are, Annabeth. What you've done. You helped save the world at _least_ twice. I know you're a powerful person, and I would rather have you as my friend and ally than my enemy."

"Are you proposing a peace treaty?" Annabeth asked.

Cami rolled her eyes. "Maybe it's the fact that... I see a girl, who's surprisingly like me and now she just needs help. So I'll get you out of here if you want."

Annabeth could've gone back to her dorm room herself, if only someone stopped spinning the room. Slowly and carefully she nodded and she felt her arm being pulled around Camille's shoulders. Surprisingly, Cami lead her away from people, away from prying eyes and took Annabeth back to her dorm room.

A nap and a shower later, she was beginning to feel more herself. Not the strong, fighter Annabeth. But the right-minded Annabeth. She sat on the counter in her kitchen and tried to move her mind away from her stress. She tried to clear her head, convince herself that it wasn't her fault.

But all she could think about was how many people were counting on her. Her father had been so proud to see her off to college, her step-mother and her were finally getting along, due to her step-mothers pride in Annabeth. Athena would kill her if she failed, even Percy's nickname for her, Wise Girl, felt like pressure those days. She just thought about how many people she would let down if she failed, and so far that day she had done nothing but take a nap and skip a lecture.

"It's not your fault," Camille told her, somewhat soothingly. Annabeth was momentarily amazed by how much nicer a person could become after helping someone in need. "None of this. Here."

Annabeth took was Camille handed her, a mug of some tea. She had stuck around, missing the lecture as well to make sure Annabeth was all right. "What's this?"

"Tea," Camille said. "I made it extra-sweet."

For years afterwards, Annabeth would regret drinking that tea. If only she had paid more attention to how Camille made it, maybe if she stopped feeling sorry for herself and actually looked up to see Camille pour something in the tea. If only she hadn't trusted even the tiniest actions Cami did, just because she helped her out of one sticky situation.

Because after about twenty minutes after drinking the tea, her vision got blurry, she lost her balance, she was confused, disorientated and nauseous and she didn't remember anything after that.

-0-0-0-0-0-

When she woke up, she didn't know where she was. She was sick and tired of waking up in strange places with some form on amnesia. She was in a large, thick bed and she seemed to be alone in a dark, warm room. She was comfortable, but her head hurt, she could barely see past the flashing lights in her mind and she wanted to throw up her guts and cry about it.

First thing to do, what she was always taught to do, what check for danger. She blinked away everything that was blocking her vision and managed to come to the conclusion that she was, in fact, alone. All alone. She also came to the conclusion that she was in a hotel room.

Second thing to do: Check and treat injuries. She checked herself over in front of a mirror and found only one bruise, a big purple one on the back of her left shoulder, although she had no idea how she got it. No bones were broken and nothing was dislocated though. She was wearing something different though, a short black dress. It wasn't low-cut or very revealing, apart from her legs. Her hair was a mess and she had make-up smudged down her face. She didn't look anything like Annabeth Chase and that was the scariest thing about it.

Part of her wanted to find painkillers to her shoulder, but she was wise. She wasn't going to take any substances, not for a while anyway. The next thing she needed to do was find out where she was and how much time had past.

She found a leaflet next to the bed for Hotel Jupiter and thanked the Gods that she was still in New Rome, if departed from Campus. She turned the bedside-table clock onto the date setting. The 10th. She had been out all night. It was about 7am then.

She picked up the phone and her mind instantly went to Reyna. Reyna would know what to do, Reyna would know how to help. But she remembered that Reyna had been talking behind her back, telling Percy that she suspected Annabeth had a drug problem and this would only help her cause.

Like it was her fault that bitch Camille spiked her drink.

That ruled out Percy as well. Percy would insist on rehab or something. She needed someone rational, who wouldn't jump to conclusions. "Jason," she whispered into the phone, her voice croaky.

"Annabeth?" he asked. "Annabeth, we've been out looking for you all night! Where are you? Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," she said. "I think I'm at Hotel Jupiter or something. I need you to come and help me. And don't tell Percy or Reyna where you're going."

Before Jason arrived, she allowed herself to break down a little. The last thing she needed was anybody seeing her cry, but the mirror made her do that. Not because she was particularly unattractive. But because she was pale, her eyes were sunken, she had lost weight and her curly hair was lifeless. She was wearing a dress, a short one at that, and make up. The person looking out of the mirror was not Annabeth. And she hated the things that led her here, the simple mistake of meeting Camille, of not realising that her medication was too strong.

By the time Jason had arrived, she had hidden any signs of tears, she looked less hungover and she had calmed herself down. She sat Jason down and told him everything she could remember and everything Percy was going to think. Jason calmed her down and assured her nothing bad would have happened during the time she didn't remember.

"I don't know what to do," she said, the words coming out in a slight embarrassing whimper. "Is this all my fault?"

"Annabeth, none of this is your fault," he said. "You're the victim here."

"I don't want to be," she said. "I'm deciding that right now. I won't be a victim. I want to take to Camille. Ask her what the point was. Why she hates me so much. How she even got date-rape drug past Terminus."

"I'll take care of it," Jason said, calmly. "Annabeth, trust me to take care of it. If you trust me with the situation, I promise she won't hurt you again."

"I don't need to be protected," Annabeth said. "I want to handle this. Even if I need help, I still want to handle this."

Jason sighed before nodding. "Okay. Okay, let's go and talk to her.

* * *

 **A/N: I was seriously not expecting to update this soon, but I sought of got into it and spent most of my night coming up with chapter plans and plotlines and I'm super excited to write them up. Even though this is the last story I need to be working on at the moment, but hey, when inspiration calls, you better listen.**

 **One thing I really hate in authors notes (apart from them being super long, but we all know it's too late for me to even try to make them shorter) is individual replies to reviews. They just annoy me, but I'm going to do that now, so sorry about that.**

 **AzureMoonlight: There was a lot of discussion about names with some friends of min IRL and on tumblr. Percabeth is going to have a son called Luke. There was no question about that, we all just decided straight away. They also have a daughter called Emma, named after one of my best friends. She asked, I couldn't say no. Jeyna are going to half one daughter, and there was a debate about whether to call her Thalia or Hylla, but I decided upon neither, as I didn't want to name all their kids after someone else. She's going to be named Lydia instead.**

 **Wrath of Nyx: I loved reading and re-reading that review. I hope you feel better soon. That's definitely what I want to do with Michael/Reyna and yeah, I don't like Canon Jason either. He needed to speak to Reyna at least once, even just as a friend, which was one of the main reasons I wrote this story. I wanted to give him an excuse and hopefully a happy ending, but I don't think I'll ever forgive him either. I did a lot of date-searching when I started this story and Jason left Reyna alone for 2 years. 2.5 if we're counting the time he got kidnapped before he returned to Camp Jupiter. There's a lot of details behind this theory and I can PM you with them if you want? Also, do let me know if my chepters are getting typical and annoying. I try to add fluff, angst and drama mixed so sometimes it does feel kind of dull. I'm always a slut for constuctive critism.**

 **Resident of Cabin 6: Oh how big I smile when I see you've reviewed. Can't remember if I've ever replied to you personally but I frickin love you. This was so kind of you to say and you totally made me blush. I'm not going to let any migraine keep me down. Keep buggering on, I say. I'm going to try and make Camille a fairly enjoyable villain and I have some (hopefully) funny scenes ahead. Do let me know how I do.**

 **I love you all so much, sorry this A/N was long. Please, please review my lovelies. -Izzy**


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER NINE:** _Devising Damnation_

It took them hours to find Camille. She didn't seem to be in any of her usual places, including the library, her dorm room. It wasn't until Jason and Annabeth sat in Advanced Maths, that they saw her.

Annabeth had cleaned up nicely, changed her clothes, brushed her hair and showered. Apart from her pale skin, her tired eyes and her colourless being, she was looking much more like herself. The two of them had arrived to their lecture early, knowing that Camille would and that would give them time and freedom to talk privately.

"What the Hell was that?" Annabeth demanded as soon as Camille walked in. She rose from her seat and started walking between seats, down the steps to face Cami, who was looking a little shocked at the confrontation.

"What the Hell was what?" she asked. Jason prepared himself to pull Annabeth out of a fight, should it so likely occur.

"Camille, we're not playing games," Jason said. "You may not know the law, but as an ex-praetor, I do. You don't even want to think about the consequences of spiking someone's drink."

"You got your drink spiked?" Cami asked, turning to Annabeth. "That's so awful!"

"Do _not_ play dumb with me," Annabeth said, sounding tired. "Why? What did I do to you to make you hate me so much that you would have me wake up, alone in a hotel room with hours of my life missing?"

"You woke up hungover in a hotel room?" Cami asked, looking on the verge of laughter. "Scandalous," she added, walking up to her usual, front row seat and setting her bag down, as if it was a casual lecture. "Like many things you do."

Annabeth paused. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she said calmly.

"You don't?" Camille said, taking out a tiny compact mirror and touching up her lip gloss. "Perhaps I'm more subtle than I think."

"Well do tell us the point you were trying to get across," Jason said.

Camille opened her laptop and typed in a couple passwords before bringing up a little film. Annabeth watched it for a second before realising it was some sought of security camera footage of her dorm room, when she was arguing with Percy. "I've become quite skilled in the art of film making," Camille said. "A secret talent of mine."

Annabeth's eyes grew wider. They didn't have a security camera in their room. Cami must have installed it at one point without anyone knowing. "You're a psychotic stalker!"

"Your point being?" Camille said. "I have a whole collection of footage. Reyna and Percy discussing your probable drug problem, you taking the study drugs, Percy turning against you..."

"Percy didn't turn against me," Annabeth said. "He was trying to help. Now what the Hell is this for?!"

Camille rolled her eyes as if Annabeth was being particularly dim. "I'm making a movie! Every lecture hall also has a security camera, so I've also got footage of that one time you woke up in a lecture hall in you pyjama's and no memory of how you got there."

Jason looked at Annabeth, slightly shocked and waiting for an explanation. She purposely avoided his gaze as her eyes drilled into Camille. "But why?!" Annabeth asked. "Why are you being so creepy and hiding cameras to get footage of me arguing with my boyfriend, studying and taking my _prescribed_ medication?"

"Because when I edit them together, it'll look as though you have a serious drug addiction," Camille answered. "Do you know how the college deals with study drugs? They'll get you a sober sponsor! You'll be caused to come off your drugs completely and you'll spend to much time in rehab to even daydream about getting your degree."

Jason paused. What kind of psychopath was this girl? "You're kidding, right?" he asked. Camille shook her head.

"That will affectively ruin my _entire_ life!" Annabeth exclaimed. "Everything I've ever worked for, you'll just take that away with a few Photoshop hacks?"

"Yep," Cami said brightly. "It's quite easy really. All I'd have to do is play it in a crowded space. Possibly to the tune of Recovery by James Arthur."

"Why?" Annabeth asked. "What did I ever do to make you hate me _that_ much?"

Camille didn't answer, she just took out a flash drive with the footage on it. Annabeth was not a drug addict, but she knew Camille was manipulative enough to make it look like she was.

"Tell us, now!" Jason ordered.

Cami turned to Annabeth, a pout on her face and, surprisingly, tears in her eyes, although Annabeth felt no pity towards her. "Because you have _everything_. Everything! And I have nothing, okay? I did have something once. I had a thing with Octavian. We had plans. To go to college together, take the same courses. Have you seen that little house on the hill near the Senate House? We were going to buy that together! He wasn't the monster you and your friends made him out to be."

"He started a war between our homes," Annabeth said, "He was going to kill us all!"

"He was doing what he thought was best for his own home," Cami said, crossing her arms. "He was a good person, and he didn't deserve what he got. You and your friends got him killed. But you didn't think, did you? About the fact that he had a family in New Rome who can't cope anymore because you killed their son. About me! You took everything from me. So I won't stop until you have nothing as well."

Annabeth and Jason exchanged looks. She was well and truly backed into a corner and there was no escape, no option. "When are you planning on playing it?" Jason asked.

"Have you heard about the sponsored dance tomorrow?" Cami asked. "You go, you dance, and people pay you for charity. You're supposed to be dancing non-stop for hours, or something. Everyone's going to be there, students, professors, the university governors. It's hosted by some charity society. That should be a good target."

"And there's nothing we could say or do to stop you?" Jason asked.

Camille shrugged. "Well, you could tackle me and fight me for the hard-drive," she said. Annabeth paused, as if that was a good option. "But I have more copies than I can count. Plus, I would get footage of your violent behaviour that would only help my cause."

"Nemesis would be well and truly proud," Annabeth said. For the first time in years, she felt weak.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Annabeth was a lot of things. Strong, powerful, academically intelligent, street-smart. But she also needed to be rational to be of any good to any cause. And in that moment she was angry, hurt, cornered and in pain all at once. Jason knew she wouldn't be able to think rationally.

"Listen, Annabeth," he said. They had left the lecture hall and was walking through on of the corridors, trying to avoid people. "Listen to me! Camille put cameras up in your dorm room. You need to go back, go home, and get them down. Destroy them, deactivate them, whatever. Just go and find them."

Annabeth nodded, the wise part of herself knowing that that's the best thing she could do at the moment. "What are you going to do?" she asked, turning to Jason.

"I'm going to find a way to stop Cami," Jason said. "Just trust me, okay? I'll let you know when I find something, so you can help me bring her down."

"Okay," Annabeth said. She paused before walking away, back to her dorm room. Somehow, she was calm.

Jason looked around the corridor, his hands running through his hair as he tried to take deep breaths. He wanted to help Annabeth. No, he needed to help Annabeth. She was his best friend, but there was nothing he could do. His options?

Tell. That would've worked in high school you could have told the teacher. But the professors didn't care. Of course, he could tell the hosts of this dance marathon about someone plotting to play an inappropriate video, but they would still see the video, they would watch it and Annabeth, due to Nemesis's genes of manipulation, would be in trouble.

Of course she had a prescription for her medication that she could use to prove everything. But the way she was taking them, the way the video showed her taking them... Nobody would care about the prescription.

He would report to security about about the hidden, illegal cameras, but they would probably demand to see the footage. And even if they didn't care about the drugs, they would care about Annabeth getting her magical hat into the city past Terminus.

The only thing he could think of was ransacking Camille's stuff and finding every copy of the video she had, but they all seemed to be password protected and Jason wasn't exactly a hacker. He could just break her laptops but that should be a very last resort.

"Jason," came a voice. Percy was running through the corridor to him, and Jason remembered how frantic he had been when they couldn't find Annabeth. "Did you get her? Where is she?"

"She's in her dorm room," Jason said. "Don't go there now, she needs rest and the two of you will just argue."

"Is she okay?" Percy asked, turning completely to Jason, still panicky. "What happened?"

"You remember I told you about Camille?" Jason asked after a pause. This was going to be hard to explain. "Well you'll never believe what she's done.

"Are you serious?" Percy asked. He paced around their dorm room, the kitchen part, as Jason finished explaining the situation. Percy was looking murderous, a look that scared Jason a little.

"I'm afraid so," Jason said.

"Well is Annabeth okay?" Percy asked.

Jason sighed. "Yes, she's fine, Percy," he said. "She's sleeping, hopefully. I told her to destroy whatever cameras she could find in her dorm room because she wouldn't fall asleep without doing something. I'm not entirely sure we can do anything without making it look like Annabeth's a junkie. We need to come up with a plan, Perc. A calm one."

Percy nodded. "Okay, yeah, calm," he said. "Okay, so I'm going to calmly walk up to Camille... calmly drag her out of New Rome so I can calmly chop her up with Riptide."

"Percy-"

"She _drugged_ my girlfriend, Jason!" Percy exclaimed. "What the Hell would you do if someone did that to Reyna?"

"Reyna isn't my girlfriend, for one thing," Jason said. "And for another, I care just as much about Annabeth as I do about Reyna. So if Reyna was in this situation, I would try to keep a level head as I came up with a plan..." he trailed off.

"What is it?" Percy asked, ceasing his pausing and looking curiously as Jason.

"That's it," Jason said. "I think I know what to do."

"Well tell me!"

Jason looked up at Percy. " _If Reyna was in this situation_ ," he repeated. "We get Reyna involved. She'll know exactly what to do! I mean, if you google _revenge_ , you get ."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "If you google revenge, you get Nemesis, which is the enemy here."

Jason sighed. "If it's Reyna vs the Goddess of Revenge, I'm betting on Reyna," he said, confidently. "I will always bet on Reyna. Okay, you and Annabeth prepare for the dance tomorrow night, sneak around the back; use Annabeth's hat or something; stop that footage. Reyna and I will figure out what to do about Camille."

Percy nodded. "Okay, fine. Just... make her pay."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Annabeth stayed with Percy that night, understandably. They didn't do anything, they just lay with their arms around each other, watching some documentary about ducks until they both dozed off. As far as Jason knew it had been a peaceful evening for both of them. He hadn't been in the dorm room, but he could imagine them waking up together, peacefully smiling before the day began. Jason's morning? A little less than peaceful.

He woke up to the birds chirping, a comfortable mess of pillows and blankets underneath them, the smell of vanilla intoxicating the dim, sunlight air. His arm was draped over something soft – he wasn't sure what. Until it shouted "EW!" and slapped his arm.

"OW!" he exclaimed. Jesus, that was going to be bruised later. Reyna really had a slap in her. He looked up as she scrambled out of the same bed he was in, her bed to be exact, in her empty dorm room. She was still wearing her clothes from the day before, as was he, and her brown hair was messy and tangled.

"Who? What? When? Where? Why?" she asked, clearly complaining angrily about waking up with Jason's arm on her. He groaned as bits and pieces of the night came back to him.

"We were up late plotting against Camille," he sighed. "We must have fell asleep." He sat up on his elbows and looked around the room, his voice croaky and groggy in the early morning.

"Yeah," Reyna agreed, remembering that. "And last time I checked, you were on the floor!"

Jason thought back to the night, sat on the edge of Reyna's bed as they did their research. They still had pieces of paper on the floor, including receipts for plane tickets to be picked up on arrival to the airport. But at no point in the night did Jason: A) remember falling asleep and B) being on the floor. "Not that I remember."

"Ugh," Reyna groaned, throwing a cushion in his face out of anger. He got to his feet and found his jacket, sliding his arms through the sleeves. "Well before you landed in my bed, we actually landed on a good idea."

Jason found and checked his watch, his eyebrows raising. Noon. "Should we make the phone call now or later?" he asked.

"We'll make the call now," she said, sending a text from her phone. "Arrange the time of meeting later."

Jason was somewhat surprised when Michael Kahale showed up at Reyna's door, ten minutes later. "Hey, what is it?" he asked, turning to Reyna. "I got your text, what's the emergency?"

"We're planning the destruction of a very bad person," Reyna explained, inviting him into her dorm room and closing the door behind him. "We need your help."

"Wait, why do we need his help?" Jason asked.

"To make the call," Reyna said, rolling her eyes as if Jason was being dim. "Camille already knows your voice and you've never been good at changing it. The director of the architecture department is, unfortunately, male and I don't think my voice is that masculine. Do you?"

"No, of course not-"

"Great," she said. "Then it's agreed that Michael's needed."

"Wait, what am I doing?" Michael asked, looking confused. Reyna just put her hand on his shoulder and smiled at him.

Jason typed a number into Reyna's phone, which would come up as _University Directors_ on Camille's Caller ID thanks to a special hack Reyna found, and handed it to Michael. Reyna had told him everything he needed to say and he practised the lines a couple times before saying them to Camille.

"Kahale, you're a born liar," Reyna said, approvingly.

He smirked. "Thanks... I think."

* * *

 **A/N: When I have to be writing a certain fanfiction because I have so much to write before a certain deadline, but instead I'm writing this one -_-  
**

 **If you want to see Queen Reyna plotting badassery that saves everyone's guts then you've come to the right fanfiction. Now, I thought I'd fill you in on a few plans for this story: College has roughly four years, give or take. I'm not going to make this into a series of stories, instead I'm going to spend 10 chapters focusing on each year. The first one's coming to a close.**

 **I don't know much about American college. You may or may not know that I am so very British, so all I know about American College is what Google tells me OR what I gather from British University (basically the equivilant). And I'm not even a University student, I'm fifteen. So sorry for any mistakes, do point them out.**

 **It's Called Christmas: I told you guys about this, but I'm telling you now that it's going to be published on the 18th of December and updated every day until the 25th. That's right, every day. It's short, about eight chapters. One introduction included. And then there are chapters dedicated to different relationships, eg. A Jercy chapter, a Percabeth chapter, a Preyna chapter, ect ect, each doing Christmassy things. There will be a flashback every chapter. In the Reynabeth chapter, there's a Reynabeth flashback, ect. These flashbacks will give spoilers/hints as to where THIS story is going, but won't give too much away.**

 **Thank you for reading, I'm looking forward to writing next chapter, despite my many responsibilities (is that how you spell it?) this weekend (I have about a billion exams next week). Please, please review! -Izzy**


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER TEN:** _End of The Epoch_

There was few people Percy would blindly follow orders from. His mother for one. Chiron, his trainer, for another. Annabeth, obviously. When he first met Reyna, he never thought she would be one of them. That, even without her praetor status, she could give him a list of instructions and a brown envelope, and he would do as she said with complete trust.

Of course, no plan could go into action without his partner in crime by his side, and today, that was Annabeth. She was still asleep, sleeping off hangovers that she had been dragging with her for weeks, catching up on the months of sleep she missed out on. In the meantime, Percy paced around her kitchen, for some reason avoiding the urge to look in the brown envelope Reyna had handed him. It was pretty big and had something small in it that didn't seem to be a piece of paper...

"Percy?" came a voice from behind him.

He turned to Annabeth and paused before running to her and hugging her. "Are you all right?" he asked, looking her over to make sure she was okay. "Annabeth, are you all right?"

"I'm fine," she said, shaking him off. "I assume Jason told you what happened? What's going to happen?"

Percy nodded. "But nothing is going to happen, Annabeth," he said. "Reyna has made some sought of plan with Jason."

"What?" Annabeth asked. "What is it?"

Percy shrugged. "I don't even know. I'm putting all of my faith in Reyna at the moment. But we have a role to play."

Annabeth paused. "Wait, wait, I'm confused. I need some coffee and an aspirin."

Percy handed her the pills as he made her coffee in silence. There was silence for about a minute as both of them remembered the argument they had when they last saw each other. She looked better than she had then. She had more colour to her skin, her hair was less lifeless. She still looked thin and her eyes were darker, but she did look better.

"I did some things before I went to sleep," she said, swallowing. "I made an appointment for one thing, to talk to Dr Coole. Jason suggested her, she lives in the city. I'm going to talk to her about reducing my medication. You were right, Percy, they are the problem. I'm losing sleep... I'm sorry I didn't believe you."

He turned to her, confused. "How can anyone possibly blame you for that, Annabeth?"

She smirked. "I talked to a few of my professors as well. I officially dropped Architecture 101. You were right, I do know everything there is to know about the subject. So I'm still going to get the degree, just without taking the course. I also dropped Advanced Mathematics... it's not even advanced, it's basic."

Percy sniggered. He had seen some of her course work and it was harder than anything he could imagine. "Good for you," he nodded, smiling at her.

She paused. "Percy, are we okay?"

He walked over to Annabeth and set her coffee down on the counter beside her. He swiped a golden curl from her face and kissed her cheek. "Annabeth, nobody said college would be this hard. But we never expected it to be easy. Couples are torn apart when they go to college, but that can't be us! I won't let that be us! So I'm not going to hold this, or anything against you. Especially since none of this is your fault."

His hand hovered by her face and she leaned into it. "Couples are also torn apart by rehab, which seems to be where I'm going."

"Not if we follow Reyna's orders," Percy said. "She came up with a plan, and she wrote out a list, spelling everything out for us."

"How thoughtful of her," Annabeth said, taking it from Percy. "Step One: Get dressed. Formal, suit but no tie, casual cocktail dress."

Percy looked mildly confused. "K. I'll go to my dorm and get changed. I'll meet you back here in ten minutes?"

Annabeth nodded as Percy ran down the hall. He owned a total of one suit. And the trousers and shirt had been from his old school: Goode. He had gotten the jacket a few months before hand for his high school prom. He had pretty much stood in the corner all night with Rachel Dare, drinking from a flask someone had sneaked in.

When he found Annabeth's room again, she was waiting outside in a yellow dress that she seemed to have just pulled out the back of her wardrobe. It reached about mid-thigh and wasn't too low. She also wore white heels and did nothing with her hair.

"Step two," she said, reading from the list as Percy jogged up to her. "Ugh, Reyna wants us to go to the stupid dance. The one for charity where Cami's going to play her home movie."

"Okay, well let's go," Percy said.

"I don't particularly want to see it," she said. "The stupid film."

He sighed. "Trust Reyna. She wouldn't send us there just to watch. Come on, let's go. It should be starting around now."

They actually arrived a little early. Somebody had rented a party room, filled it with balloons and streamers. It was hosted by a charitable society run by some university students. People sponsored certain dancers or joined in, and the longer you danced without a break, the more money you raised.

"I think we're supposed to blend in," Annabeth said, as the music started. Percy lead his girlfriend onto the dance floor. The music got really loud as people started leading partners onto the floor or danced solo. He was worried about Annabeth's head and wondered if she still had a hangover.

"Are you okay?" he asked. She nodded, sighing. "Are you sure?"

She rolled her eyes. "Percy, I don't need everyone babying me. I know I've had a rough couple of days, and I know I've been weak and I needed help. But overall, I am not weak. I can handle myself."

He spun her around rather slowly and wrapped his arms around her. "I never doubted you, Wise Girl."

She pulled Reyna's list out and read step three over Percy's shoulder. "Why did Reyna write us a list anyway?"

Percy shrugged. "She didn't have time to really talk to me this morning," he said. "I only saw her for like, ten seconds before she ran off to do something else. She didn't have time to explain, so she wrote it down in advance."

"I think step three is just for me," Annabeth said. "I have to go to the bathroom and put on my Yankees cap."

"Do you have it on you?" he asked.

She nodded. "It's in my bag in the corner. Wait by the punch bowl and I'll meet you there when I have to take it off again."

Percy nodded and went to go sit behind the punch table. The dance began to pick up, more and more people arrived. There was a big screen above the stage that had cartoon characters portraying dance moves on. And Karaoke lyrics. Percy figured that was where Camille's video was going to be played, but he didn't know when.

There did seem to be everyone there. Board members, University Councillors, all taking part or filming the fundraiser. But Jason and Reyna were no where to be seen, neither was Camille. Neither was Annabeth, and Percy wondered what she was up to, what Reyna wanted her to do.

That was until she revealed herself behind him and poked him in the sides, making him jump out of his skin. "Annabeth!" he said. "What did you do?"

She held up two cards, while looking around nervously. "They're the student ID's of some of the people running this thing. Reyna wanted me to take them. I don't think she realises how risky that is, considering that every authority figure in the college is here."

Percy took one. "I'm assuming we're using these to get in somewhere."

Annabeth nodded and pointed over to a door next to the stage. "Through there. Notice the security guard to one side?"

Percy nodded and walked over to the door with Annabeth by his side. He stuffed her Yankees cap into his pocket, along with the envelope Reyna had given him. They covered the pictures on the ID cards and held them up as the security guard held his hand out to stop them. He let them through without question. Probably thanks to the confident and casual looks on Percy and Annabeth's faces.

Back-stage was pretty much a small, dark room, full of wires that lead to a music sound set. The wires must have lead to the speakers outside on the dance floor and to the large screen. There was a rack full of CD's that Annabeth walked over to.

"We're looking for something called _Inception_ ," she said. She started flicking through CD's, Percy going through the other side. "Do you think this is the footage of me?"

"Probably," Percy said, looking for the CD. "I don't see what else it could be. How did Reyna know what it was disguised as?"

"I have no idea," Annabeth said. "Where do you think she is? With Jason?"

"If those two are working together..." Percy shuddered. "I am beginning to believe that she is an evil genius. For future reference, you're going to want that girl on your side."

"I found it," Annabeth said. She held up a CD case with a picture of an ocean on it and writing that read Inception. She opened it up to a plain white CD.

Percy pulled out the list Reyna gave them. "We're supposed to switch it for the one in the envelope," he said, pulling said envelope from his jacket pocket and opening it up to see a CD, identical to the one in _Inception_.

"Wait, what do you think is on this one?" Annabeth asked, swapping them over.

Percy shrugged. "We're going to have to find out."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Camille had been on her way to the dance herself, when she took a detour. As far as she was aware, one of the university directors had wanted to meet her in the courtyard and she had wrapped her coat on over her dress and went out to find him. It was a lovely, thick red coat with layered, frilly skirts, black buttons, a black fur collar and a red bow around her waist. She wore high red heels, her ebony hair was perfectly curled, and her black skirts were poking out from under her coat.

There were patches of people, as ever, mingling in the courtyard, none of which really paid attention to her. Until of course, Jason walked up to her. "I think it's about time you and I had a chat," he said, standing directly in front of her and crossing his arms, in an angry sought of manner.

"You," Camille spat, clearly unhappy. "I don't have time to chat with you, Jason. I'm meeting someone out here."

Jason rolled his eyes, as if she was being dim. "Yes, my friend Michael called ahead, I believe. Stop looking, Camille, no university director is here to talk to you."

"You - You lured me out here?" she asked, coming to her senses.

"You wouldn't have met with me otherwise," he said. "I thought we should discuss your little temper tantrum involving one of my best friends."

"It's not a temper tantrum," Camille said.

" _Relax_ , I'm here for peace," Jason said. "Walk with me."

Camille reluctantly walked by Jason's side as he absent-mindedly listed all of the reasons Camille shouldn't play that video of Annabeth. "You can't just do that to a person," he said. "You can't send her to rehab when she's done nothing wrong. You can't ruin her like that."

"Jason-"

"No, I'm not going to let you hurt my best friend," he said. "She's done nothing to you, nothing to Octavian."

"Jason," Camille said. She had kind of had a rough past with Jason and Reyna. Whilst they were praetors, Reyna seemed to always have a particular burning hatred of Cami.

Camille had never really behaved and Reyna hated people abiding by rules that weren't her own. Roman punishments were hard, and Camille had every right to hate the ex praetors.

"Annabeth, as far as I can gather, was the leader of the seven," Camille said. "The seven is the reason my first love is dead. I have to avenge him, Jason, I must. Because of you, because of Annabeth... I have no one."

"You don't have to have no one," Jason said. "Nobody forced you to do horrible things, you could have easily just made friends instead of enemies."

"No, I couldn't have," she said. "It's in my nature to get revenge, and I do have my reasons. Because of Annabeth, I'm all alone."

"Oh, you're not alone Camille," said a sickly sweet voice from behind her. She turned to see Reyna smiling kindly at her, as if being reassuring. "I'm here now. And I came with some people who really, really want to talk to you."

She gestured behind her to one security guard, two University Governors, Hazel Levesque, wearing her praetor cloak, and Terminus, who popped into thin air before them. Camille developed a mildly scared look. She turned back to Jason, who just looked smug, before looking back at Reyna.

"Okay, look," Camille said. "Praetor, Governors, I don't know what Reyna told you, but it's not true. You have to believe me!"

"There, there, Cami," Reyna smiled, handing Camille a handkerchief, as if she was about to cry. "It's going to be all right."

"No, it won't," Hazel said, stepping to Reyna's side.

"Or it won't," Reyna corrected. "We're all so worried, Cami. I found out everything. How you have been hoarding and taking study-drugs yourself."

"Not now," Cami said. "That's all in the past and I've admitted to that. That was a hard time," Cami said. "Back when I was a teenager, but I've changed. I've gotten over it."

"When?" Reyna asked. "When you started stalking Annabeth to find her Adderall? Terminus was furious when he found out you sneaked Annabeth's Yankees cap in through the boarder and into her hand when she was asleep."

"I've had enough," Camille said. "I have a party to attend. And you can not prove I've done anything wrong!"

"Oh I think we can," Reyna smirked. She checked the watch on her wrist and smiled. "See, in about five minutes or so, the video you shot of Annabeth, will be replaced by one of you. Hiding Cameras in Annabeth's dorm-"

"Breaking College rules," one of the governors said.

"Taking illegal pills-" Reyna added.

"Within the city limits!" Terminus screeched, outraged.

"Breaking pretty much every rule New Rome has," Hazel added.

Camille began to get a little panicky. "I have to get that DVD back-"

"Stay where you are," the security guard demanded, stopping Camille as she tried to turn around. Reyna just smiled wider.

"Yes, do stay, Camille," she said. "I'll leave. Oh, wait, I almost forgot to leave you with the information I discussed with Hazel, here." She handed a leaflet over to Camille, who took and read it.

"It's where you're going," Jason said, from over her shoulder.

"A rehab, just a mile from here," Hazel said. "Reyna was kind enough to do some research."

Camille turned to Reyna and glared at her, shooting daggers from her eyes. Reyna just smiled sweetly, a sight that people only saw when she was being incredibly sarcastic. "Haven't you heard?" Reyna asked, leaning in so only Camille could hear her. "I'm the crazy bitch around here."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Reyna and Jason were allowed to go immediately. They went to the little party and found Percy and Annabeth. They moved over to a staircase leading backstage and sat down. Percy and Annabeth were on a couple steps above Reyna and Jason, but they were all still pretty close together. Jason explained where Camille was going and what was on the DVD Reyna had created. Percy was beaming and Annabeth was so relieved she could cry.

"I told you," Jason said to Percy. "I'm always betting on Reyna."

Reyna wouldn't meet his eye as Camille ran in. She was followed by the security guard just as her video played. It showed her planting cameras in Annabeth's room, taking un-prescribed study-drugs, stalking and hurting Annabeth and explaining her evil schemes. Someone backstage had turned the video off quickly and started the music up again.

"Shame," Percy said. "I would have liked to see the ending."

"If you turn to your left, you should be able to see it," Jason said, pointing to Cami getting dragged out of the room. "Kind of feel bad for her."

There was a pause before they all laughed. "Well," Percy said, "can I have this celebratory dance, Wise Girl?"

Annabeth got to her feet as well and took Percy's hand. "You most certainly can, Seaweed Brain."

Reyna watched as they left her alone with Jason. "They look so cute together," she commented, watching her lean into him, feeling safe and happy, the first time she had looked like that for weeks. She looked to Jason, who seemed pretty solemn. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"I danced with Piper to thins song once," he said.

"Oh," Reyna said. "Are you okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. I mean, it's been almost an entire year. I'm over it."

Reyna paused. She knew Jason to much for him to hide things from her. He was completely transparent to her, whether she liked him or not. "No you're not," she said. "She was you're first love. You haven't moved on."

He sighed. "How does anyone ever seem to move on?" he asked.

She put a hand on his shoulder and smiled at him. "Jason... I think you'll meet someone entirely new. And you'll fall so madly and deeply in love that you'll have moved on without even realising it."

He looked at her, cocking his head slightly. "Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano. My best friend. Even if I'm not yours anymore. I ruined everything, didn't I?"

She nodded slowly. "Even if we manage to salvage something out of this, it'll never be the same as it used to be. Why did you leave me?"

It was the way she asked that question that gave Jason a strange sense of hope. It wasn't directed at him, it was directed at no one, at nothing. And she wasn't expecting an answer, because he had already given her the answer, time and time again. The way she asked it then, it was almost as if she was asking the universe why these events just had to occur.

"Thank you," he said.

She looked confused. "For what?"

"Even if we can never have it again," he said, "you have me the best friendship I could hope for. You were incredible to me."

She nodded. "I was. I did everything right, I was a good friend. And you may not remember, but I do. I remember that I didn't deserve what I got."

He nodded. "I remember. You were my best friend, Rey. You were always there for me when I needed someone, when I was upset or angry, you were just... always there."

"You know that's never going to change?" she said. "No matter what happens between us, we're family."

There was a long pause. Neither of them knew what to say next, Reyna was on the verge of leaving. It was a dressy event and she was in leggings and a denim jacket. It was at least en minutes before Jason spoke.

"This year, I heard Piper say goodbye to me," Jason said. "I heard Thalia cry a little when she sent me off to college. I heard Annabeth cry on the phone when she told me she didn't know where she was. I heard so many terrible things this year but when you told me you hated me... I think it was the worst thing I had ever heard in my life. So whatever I can say, or do, to be your friend again... Please tell me."

She just looked at him and smiled, softly. "We're okay."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Annabeth was climbing into bed when the door to the dorm room opened and Reyna came in, a grin on her face. She was holding an envelope in her hand and she showed it to Annabeth.

"What's that?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at Reyna.

Reyna sat at the end of Annabeth's bed and put the envelope on the blondes lap. "I know you've had a terrible couple of weeks," she said. "So I wanted to do something nice for you. I remember something you said, before leaving for New York for Christmas."

"What did I say?" Annabeth asked, trying to think back but coming up with nothing memorable.

"So crap you usually say about architecture in England," Reyna said. "So I called my sister who works at Amazon and got a family discount."

"For what?" Annabeth asked, taking the envelope and opening it up.

"You need a break," Reyna said. "You need sleep, food, doctors, but above all, you need a break from this place."

"We're going to England!?" Annabeth exclaimed, taking two plane tickets out of the envelope and staring at them with wide eyes.

Reyna shrugged. "I could only get two, with the family discount or not, so you can take Percy, or you could take me. Or Jason, or anyone, it's completely up to you-"

"I want to take you," Annabeth said, as if it should be obvious. "Oh my Gods, I can't believe you did this! When do we leave?!"

* * *

 **A/N: And this concludes their first year of college. I most likely will not be updating again until after Christmas, but I will be back on Friday with It's Called Christmas, and I hope to see you all there. I actually have to go and do the cover for that now.**

 **Their second year of college will include a lot more Michael/Reyna/Jason stuff which I'm looking forward to writing. Please let me know what you think before you go! Hours to write, seconds to review. -Izzy**


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER ELEVEN:** _It Pays to Have a Pal_

"Hey, it's Reyna," said an automated message. Jason smiled lightly when he heard her voice through the phone pressed to his ear. He was sat all alone in the dark dorm room, night time had fallen and Percy was out at some party he had been invited to. They had just come back after summer vacation and lectures and work didn't start until the next day, two days before Reyna and Annabeth were due to return from England. "Leave your name and number and I'll call you back."

Jason looked down, still smiling slightly. Reyna had finally forgiven him, after a year of making him work for it. They were finally... on the verge of being friends again. What was he supposed to say after the beep? "I might miss you a little bit."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Reyna and Annabeth stood in the dorm room over a collection of suitcases as they packed for England, a tedious task. The luggage was pretty plain and neither wanted anything too sparkly, and they shop they went to sold either sparkly pink suitcases or plain. They had clothes and toiletries out as they sorted through what they needed to take.

"I've got to pack in outfits, you know?" Annabeth said, holding a shirt up to a pair of shorts before folding them up to put in her suitcase. "What's the weather like there?"

"Stereotypically it's very rainy," Reyna said, her phone in her hand as she read something. "But according to weather reports it's supposed to be clear. Pretty windy though. Average of 20 degrees."

"Damn," Annabeth said.

"Annabeth!" Reyna scolded, taking her shirt from her. "You've got to roll everything if you want it all to fit. What kind of animal are you?"

"Should I take this shirt?" Annabeth asked, holding up a white tank top.

"I like that shirt on you, but you always complain that you have manly shoulders in it," Reyna replied. "I have no idea why." Annabeth put the shirt back down.

Annabeth finished packing clothes and started throwing toiletries on top. "My travel lotion," she mused, ticking them off. "My travel deodorant, my shampoo... where's my hand sanitizer?"

"Oh, I have hand sanitizer," Reyna said, looking around for her own.

"No, my travel sanitizer," Annabeth said. She found it eventually, ending their packing, and they found themselves at the airport. It didn't take them long to get through customs but they were held up at Gatwick airport in London as Reyna's bag had been mixed up.

Reyna had fallen asleep on the ten hour flight and Annabeth had wrapped her in her jacket. She still wore it as they waited in the waiting room until night time fell, waiting for Reyna's bag as she complained. Apparently, she didn't like airplanes so she just wanted to get to the hotel and sleep.

Finally the bag came through and they ordered a taxi to take them to the hotel. The driver complimented them on their American accents. "I have an American accent?" Reyna asked. "Damn. Good job, me."

"Slightly Spanish," the driver said. "So this isn't your first time travelling?"

Reyna shook her head. "Good times."

"I want to learn Spanish," Annabeth said. "Purely because you get mad a lot and when you get mad you rant in Spanish and I want to know what you're saying."

"That's a bit intrusive," Reyna replied as the car pulled up outside the hotel. The girls hopped out and the taxi driver helped them take their bags right up to the elevator after they checked in.

Annabeth opened the door first and gasped as she saw the room. It had an orangey pink atmosphere. The walls were a light, faded orange and the thin carpet was cream and pink stripped. The curtains were grey and pink stripped and went from the floor to the ceiling; they were pulled open, revealing the dark sky of London. There were two double beds, each with white sheets, loads and loads of pillows and cream and red bedspreads. There were also two lamps, one on the table between the two beds, and one taller one by the windows, next to a television in the corner. Next to the TV, there was a wooden chest of draws and next to that was a door that lead to the on-suit bathroom.

"Oh my Gods, this place is perfect," Annabeth said, looking around the room, her eyes a little wide.

Reyna pushed her way past Annabeth and into the bathroom. "Airplanes make me feel gross. I need to shower immediately."

Annabeth ignored her and looked at the beds. "There are so many pillows!"

* * *

Within their first few days Annabeth had somewhat settled in. She loved the streets of London, even though they were usually wet with rain. She had learned to carry an umbrella at all times, because, even in summer, England lived up to it's reputation as rainy.

She loved hearing British accents at every corner, sometimes even asking her out. She could count the amount of times she said 'I've got a boyfriend' in England. And they all seemed pretty polite about it. Except from one guy, who she had to punch in the face but that wasn't important.

She also used the phrase 'We're on vacation' a lot to convince Reyna to do things. They had taken loads of picture, only a couple of themselves, and made them into postcards to send home.

Reyna had found something of a summer romance with a cute university student named Tyler. They never officially put a label on it, but he had taken her to the London Eye, and they rode to the very top, where he kissed her. "I'm leaving in 14 days," she had said. He had reminded her it was just for fun, and often he tagged along when she went out with Annabeth.

"What if we both fell in love while we're here?" Annabeth wondered one time, when she and Reyna walked through the damp streets of London, Reyna holding a thing of the best fries Annabeth had ever tasted. Or 'chips', like they said in England.

"You're all ready in love," Reyna reminded her. During the vacation she had let her hair down a lot more often, out of her usual plait. Annabeth did as well, discarding her usual ponytail more often than at home. Both girls liked the idea of recreating oneself on vacation.

"Oh that's right," Annabeth said after a pause, remembering Percy at home.

They did like imagining scenarios though. At one point they walked past a very expensive looking block of flats and Reyna pointed up to them. "What if we just bought one of those flats?"

"Dibs on the biggest bedroom," Annabeth replied.

"Do you want to fight?" Reyna said, smiling for once.

They never actually bought an apartment though. They stayed in their beautiful hotel room, rolling around on the beds and ordering more room service than they could afford. Watching British television and become engrossed in BBC's Sherlock. They pulled the curtains closed at night time and lay side by side in one of the beds, wrapped up in silky hotel dressing gowns over their pyjamas, with the television on quietly as they talked.

Reyna had ordered some wine from room service, but neither of them had a corkscrew and found them impossible to open. "Call down," Reyna said, gesturing to the phone on the bedside-table that was closest to Annabeth.

Annabeth picked up the phone and called down to room service. "Um, hi," she said. "This is stupid, but do you have a corkscrew?" There was a pause as the guy replied. "Sorry," Annabeth said. "Okay, sorry. Sorry, yeah sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Okay, sorry." Reyna didn't know what they were actually talking about on the phone, but all she heard was Annabeth apologising.

"Apologise more," Reyna said, a little sarcastic, taking a break from trying to pull the cork out of the bottle with her teeth.

"Sorry," Annabeth said into the phone. Eventually they hung up and Reyna asked what the problem was. "No problem, they're sending up a corkscrew."

Reyna paused. "Then what was all the apologising?"

Annabeth shrugged. "He kept apologising for the inconvenience so I apologised back because he seemed really busy."

Reyna just shook her head. About five minutes later she suggested checking in with Percy and Jason. Annabeth pulled her phone out to text their group chat. Yes, they had a group chat. It was Percy who originally made it as he needed to text all of them at once. Since then, the four of them had sought of kept it and Percy had named it 'The College Squad'.

Annabeth turned on her camera and held up the wine. "We're taking selfies now," she said. "Despicable."

"Don't selfie-shame," Reyna said, leaning into the picture and beaming.

"Oh my Gods, you are so cute," Annabeth said as she took and sent the picture. "How are you still single?"

The corkscrew came a few minutes later and they poured a glass of wine for each of them. Annabeth didn't particularly like wine. It was too bitter. Reyna was all right with it. Really they just wanted to try new things and it was different than their usual hot-chocolate.

"This is the best trip ever," Reyna sighed, her head leaning on Annabeth's shoulder.

"I know, right?" Annabeth said, back. "I never want to vacation with my family again.

"Do you think we'll ever use the other bed?" Reyna asked. The two girls looked over to the second double bed, which they had cruelly neglected the entire trip. They were both close enough to sleep in the same bed and it was more comfortable in unknown places.

"Nah," Annabeth said. "I kind of feel sorry for it though."

"And you think I'm cute," Reyna said, rolling her eyes.

* * *

They spent the entire vacation doing all of the touristy stuff but trying not to look like tourists. At one point, they quit. They bought t-shirts with the Union Jack on it, they ran around London with a camera, taking pictures outside of the British Museum and Big Ben.

There was one stream of photo's that Annabeth particularly liked, when Reyna managed to make one of the guards outside of Buckingham Palace crack a smile. Then she kissed him on the cheek and the girls bounced away to their next destination.

They sat down on a patch of grass with a Cheeky Nando's. It was a term that had baffled Annabeth for a while, but everybody in London seemed to know.

"You know what, Reyna?" Annabeth said, sighing as it started to rain slightly. "I'm really glad you're here with me."

Reyna paused before smiling. "I'm really glad you're here with me, too."

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Hey, it's Annabeth," said an automated message. Percy was sat in the back of the Campus Library, on the floor you're supposed to be completely silent on. Nobody was really around him and he missed the sound of Annabeth's voice, so he called her. They had just come back after summer vacation and Percy was already in the Library, studying for lectures that hadn't happened yet. "Leave a message and I'll call you back."

Percy smiled slightly when he heard her voice. He had gone through all of the pictures they sent home and had to admit that nobody did 'Best Friends' as well as Reyna and Annabeth did. "Come home."

* * *

 **A/N: I wasn't planning on updating so early. Like, before Christmas early. But here I am, so enjoy some Reynabeth. I did mention a couple Authors Notes ago that I was NOT turning this into a series, but last chapter did seem kind of final, didn't it? It wasn't the end of the story, just the end of the year. Sorry for any confusion.**

 **I see a lot of people on social media asking what the hell 'Cheeky Nandos' means. I was going to explain it in this chapter but my friend (who's sat next to me right now breathing down my neck) said that would be a crime, and we're not supposed to explain it. Sorry. It's innocent, I think some people say it elsewhere but it's mostly British based slang.  
**

 **I don't have MANY readers of this story who lives in the UK, I do, but most of my readers are in the USA. Then Australia, the Sweden and I think the UK is forth. Anyway, if you are a British reader, shout out to yah, ledge, let's go all aboard the banterbus and get a cheeky nandos.**

 **Anyway, thank you all so much for the reviews! They were fun as hell to read, and they made me blush! I will try to include a few crossovers, maybe see Piper again, and of course some Frazel (my babies) and Nico (my baby). I'm a sucker for Reynico BroTP. I will also try to include some more demigodishness into this story, as was suggested.  
**

 **I love you all, thank you for reading! Please review! -Izzy**


	12. Chapter 12

**CHAPTER TWELVE:** _Misguided Suggestions of Unneeded Romance  
_

New Rome allowed college freshmen to have certain privileges. They got their dorm rooms for free, first of all. And they had extreme discounts in all shops the campus had. Plus, the University gave them a small fee every month. This meant that Freshman got to buy everything they wanted and it wasn't any stress because they were just given the money outright.

After the first year though, things got tougher. Discounts were gone, University money was taken away and rent was thrown on them. They only had a few dorm rooms for non-freshman, after the third year, you were kind of expected to buy an apartment, preferably in New Rome.

After the first year, jobs needed to be found.

Jason and Annabeth got the luxury of finding a job they were passionate about. Annabeth became a part-time study tutor, and helped students who were behind, or, well, thick. She didn't charge much, but she had a lot of customers. So tutors in the college were free, but everybody wanted the daughter of Minerva.

Jason became a personal trainer at the campus gym. He had a few people who he trained with every week and he got very good results for it. Plus, very good cash.

Percy and Reyna, however, get the short end of the stick. The college had very few jobs that people were passionate about, so Jason and Annabeth were lucky. And whilst most college students got a job in babysitting or tour guiding, Jason and Annabeth were lucky.

Percy and Reyna were stuck in a coffee shop.

"I used to be the queen of Rome," Reyna complained, sorting through packets of herbal teas as she arranged them on the shelf. "Now I'm a barista. Like hero to zero, real quick."

"Oh stop pouting," Percy replied. The shop wasn't actually open yet, and Percy was preparing the coffee machine for 7am. That's right, 7. They had to get up early. Percy had a lecture at 2pm, but other than that, they were there the whole day. "They're really over working us though. Good pay I guess..."

"Why couldn't I be a personal trainer?" Reyna complained.

"Because the majority of students in this college who require a personal trainer believe that a male trainer would be better," Percy said. "Because the patriarchy had drilled it into their minds that it is the men who are the fittest."

Reyna looked at him as if he had just said he had caused the apocalypse. "Sorry, what?"

"You drill it into my head twenty-four/seven," he said. "Everything you say is about the patriarchy. I get it, Reyna."

Her eyebrows knitted together. "I'm not _that_ bad, am I?"

"You are," he shrugged. "But it's cool, you know? It's your thing. Own it. Besides, you're probably right."

"I'm always right," she shrugged.

Almost the second they opened they had costumers streaming in. Reyna put aside her distaste for the job as she made coffee. "It's not permanent," Percy reminded her, whispering in her ear as she worked.

The uniform was simple. Whatever trousers they wanted, with a black t-shirt and a purple apron around their waists. Reyna had her hair up in her usual plait and Percy's was messy as ever.

One customer walked in and went straight to a table without ordering, unzipping his bag. Percy was about to call him over when Reyna held her hand out to stop him. "He'll be over in a minute," she said. "He's taking out his typewriter."

He was indeed, taking a vintage typewriter out of it's case in his bag and setting it up at the table. "Who had a typewriter these days?" Percy asked, whispering to Reyna. "This is the 21st century."

"I think it's cool," she said. "I'll go and ask what he wants."

"That's not how this shop works," Percy said, but Reyna was already walking around the counter.

"Hey Michael," she said as she reached him. She leaned against the wall next to his table and cocked her head at the blue typewriter and the paper he pulled out. "That's cute."

"It's inspirational," Michael Kahale said, beaming as he looked up at Reyna. "It keeps me focused when I'm writing."

"I forgot all about your passion for literature," she said, trying to smile back at him, but realising that she rarely smiled and she should probably keep it that way. "Working on anything interesting?"

"Working on a novel at the moment," he said. "Using journalism as practise." He pulled at a roll of paper from his back pocket and handed it to her. She took it and read the first few lines of a very well written description of English Literature. It was in the college paper and had his name printed at the top.

"Typewriter, coffee shop and a published article," she said. "You really are... a hipster."

"Wow," he laughed as she smirked. He tried to take the paper back but she held it away from him.

"Actually, can I keep this?" she asked. "I want to read it. I'll give it back."

"Knock yourself out," he said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. "I kind of feel like a jerk for asking, but you do work here. Can I get an Espresso?"

She refused to take the money and smiled at him. "On the house," she said, going back to the till where Percy was shaking his head at her.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Now that Jason and Reyna was able to sit in the same room without committing homicide, the group were all able to have dinner together. They usually ate in the girls dorm room, as it was much tidier than the boys. Percy and Annabeth would cuddle up together and Jason and Reyna would make puking jokes as they yelled at the TV. No matter what they watched, they always found some reason to yell.

Although, that particular evening, they were peaceful. They faced each other on the couch with take-out in their hands as Jason laughed. "To this day I still don't know how to pronounce any of your last names." Reyna cracked a smile, which was the equivalent of laughing for her, as Jason pointed a fork at her. "I'm just going to call you RARA."

Reyna's face became serious as she pointed her own fork at Jason. "You call me RARA one time and I will burn New Rome to the ground."

Percy and Annabeth, who were sat on the floor leaning against the couch, burst into laughter. "Hm," Percy shrugged. "We could just nickname you Maca-Reyna."

Jason and Annabeth laughed but Reyna just feigned an expression of offence as she hit Percy's arm. "Rude," she exclaimed.

"No ruder than Seaweed Brain," he said, looking at Annabeth menacingly. "I call you Wise Girl. That's a compliment."

"I've been calling you that since you were twelve," she said. "It's never going away."

Jason narrowed his eyes and looked down at the couple. "It's weird to imagine you as children," he said. "How long have you been a couple?"

"Since sixteen," Percy said. "We met at twelve and, as I remember, this one hated me. Okay, right, I just watched my mother get kidnapped, was unconscious for days after a fight with a monster, before I even knew they existed, I was pretty traumatized, right? All she has to say to me was 'You drool in your sleep'!"

Annabeth laughed. "Sorry," she said. "But not really. You do drool."

Jason nodded, being Percy's room mate, he knew all about it. "A lot."

"Was that the first thing you ever said to him?" Reyna asked Annabeth. She nodded and Reyna smirked. "Well the first thing Jason ever said to me was a particularly nasty swear word. Or dozens. Let's just say you owed the swear jar a lot of money."

Annabeth paused before turning to Jason, who was a little red. "Wait, why?"

"It was just after... The Pancake Injury of 2005," Jason answered sheepishly. Percy turned to him, a look of shock on his face. Jason held up a hand. "Trust me, it's best you don't ask."

Reyna actually laughed at that point. Annabeth and Percy joined in but Jason only looked at Reyna. It was so rare that she laughed, she was often so serious, so when she did laugh, it only made it more special. It didn't just show off her white teeth, it lit up her eyes, bunched up her cheeks, and turned her cold, dark, slightly stuck-up atmosphere warmer, sweeter.

And it was ridiculous, her laugh made you laugh.

It was one of the first things Jason originally fancied about her. One of the things that, when he was with Piper, he was afraid he would hear again and fall in love with. Now, at that moment, he only saw Reyna as his friend. One of his best friends. But he had once been crushing on her, and her laugh was one of the reasons why.

-0-0-0-0-0-

By that point, both Jason and Reyna were pretty used to coming home to see Percy and Annabeth in bed together. The couple was nineteen, and still hadn't figured out how to make their private life... well, private. Reyna came home to her dorm room one day to a half-naked Percy bickering with Annabeth, the two of them fighting like an old married couple.

"Guys," she complained, pulling out her headphones and putting her work folders down on her desk. "Come on, I live here. Percy, put some pants on."

Annabeth threw Percy's jeans at him and he scrambled into them. Other than that, they ignored Reyna's presence and kept bickering. "You know, they say if you love something, you should set it free," he said as she pushed him out the door.

"They say if you hate something you should slam the door in it's face," she replied, preparing to slam the door in his face.

"I love it when you talk dirty, Annabeth," he said, as the door slammed. Annabeth turned back to Reyna and smiled.

"Everything okay?" Reyna asked.

Annabeth nodded. "Yeah, it's fine," she said. "We fight all the time."

"I realised," Reyna smirked. "I remember when I first saw you, throwing Percy over your shoulder." Annabeth laughed a little as she tidied up her bed and grabbed a laundry basket. "You guys have been bickering more lately," Reyna pointed out. It was true. Ever since they got back from England, most of their conversations had been argumentative. Not all, but more than usual. "You sure everything is good?"

"Everything is fine," Annabeth assured her, grinning. "It's our thing."

"Well, the half-naked man crawling out of your bed whenever I walk into the room is starting to get annoying," Reyna mused, in a friendly tone.

Annabeth sniggered. "I'm sorry. I'm a room-mate horror story."

"Well at least your bed's seeing half-naked men," Reyna said, smiling herself.

Annabeth just raised an eyebrow and started picking up a few dirty pieces of clothes from around the room. "Well I don't know. You and Jason seem pretty close lately."

"Wow, really?" Reyna asked, climbing up to the top bunk. "We _just_ got our friendship back on track. I don't feel that way for him, and he doesn't feel that way about me."

Annabeth shrugged. "All I'm saying is that sometimes, when we all have dinner together, it kind of feels like a double date."

"Don't even start," Reyna said, holding her hand up.

There was a pause for a minute before Annabeth turned to Reyna. "Was their a writer in the coffee shop?" Reyna looked up at her and Annabeth shrugged. "Michael or something. Percy said he had a typewriter and you looked at him with heart eyes."

"Percy has a big mouth," Reyna said. "And I did not look at Michael with heart eyes. He's my friend."

There was a pause. "Percy and I used to be friends," she said, feigning a tone and expression of complete innocence and pretending as though her hint had been delivered unnoticed.

"Okay, Annabeth," Reyna exclaimed, smiling. She pretended to be annoyed and inconvenienced by Annabeth's enquiries, but really, she just thought it was cute that she cared.

Annabeth laughed. "I'm just asking."

"You're just intruding," Reyna corrected.

"What are friends for?"

Reyna bundled up a t-shirt from the end of her bed and threw it into Annabeth's basket. "Laundry," she answered, smirking.

Annabeth looked shocked. "Demanding I see," she said. There was another pause as the two girls laughed it off. Reyna turned to her laptop and opened it, started up a few study documents. Annabeth just cocked her head at Reyna for a moment, watching her slightly. "Reyna," she said.

"Hm?" Reyna answered, not looking up immediately. When she did look up, Annabeth smiled at her.

"I love you," the blonde said.

"I love you, too," Reyna said, slightly confused as to why she hat to state what was, in her opinion, the obvious. "You're my best friend."

* * *

 **A/N: I technically didn't finish this chapter with everything I wanted in it. There was supposed to be some Jasabeth and a Percabeth scene but I really really wanted to update because I'm in a weird mood that's a mixture of sadness, happiness and creativity and I just really wanted to update.**

 **I love Preyna BroTP, and I wanted a reason for them to interact more, so I made them work together. Clearly, at college, nobody ever gets a good job that they like, and I tried to be realistic about their options.**

 **I know, I hate individual responses to reviews, but whatever.  
**

 **Guest reviewer - I love you let's be friends!**

 **ngsie - You're a proper lad m8 let's smash it**

 **MyLittleBigBangSwitchAtOlympus - (that was hard to remember) I PMed you, let me know if you got it or not because I think my PM system is a little broken. Basically, sorry you didn't like it, I'm not offended or anything. We all have our personal preference of how we like to see our characters and relationships, so thank you for your opinion and for reviewing in the first place.**

 **I MADE TWO CHAPTER PLANS! ONE LONG TERM AND ONE SHORT TERM AND I'M EXCITED. I love it when I get my shit together xD Hours to write, second to review. Love you -Izzy**


	13. Chapter 13

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN:** _Troubles of The Heart_

October began pretty soon and for once... everyone seemed pretty happy. There was no drama, no fights. Annabeth and Percy bickered 24/7, but they'd been doing that since they were twelve, so nobody really cared. And they still got along like relationship goals.

Reyna was spending more and more time with Michael and she became more and more interested in him. Jason was just happy that Reyna seemed happy. She deserved it, especially after everything he put her through. But a little voice in his head kept nagging him, whenever he saw Reyna and Michael smiling together, laughing even, he wondered if that would've been him and Reyna, had he not chosen Piper. Reyna and Michael weren't even a couple, but everyone could tell he fancied her.

One day, the whole of New Rome held a chariot race, and the five of them all went along. It was originally going to be the four of them, but Reyna insisted on bringing Michael. Slowly, throughout the day, it became a date between Michael and Reyna as Jason sat with Percy and Annabeth, feeling like a third wheel.

"So how's your novel coming along?" Reyna asked. She sat on the bleachers of the Circus Maximus, looking down at the oval race track with Michael by her side. The race looked pretty violent that day. Terminus didn't allow real weapons past the Pomerian Line, but they did use fake weapons, and more technical ways of pulling each other's carriages apart. Not to mention the fact the track itself was trapped and rigged, and whilst the players knew that, it still made the game harder for them. Plus, there was a stand near the entrance where viewers could buy popcorn and, to Reyna's approval, jelly beans.

"It's going well," he said, smiling. "I should have it done within the year."

She scrunched up her eyebrows. "How long does it take to write a novel?"

"Well I've been working on mine for a few months," he said. "It's going to be fairly short, a small novel. Honestly, it's mostly going to be descriptions without a massive amount of plot."

"What's it about?" she asked. They had a special couple seats on the bleachers, that had the best view of the track. Reyna wasn't praetor anymore, but she still had a certain amount of respect and privilege that came from her work as queen. So she always got the best seats and the best opportunities.

Jason and Percy got it as well, but not quite as much as Reyna. After all, she was more Roman than either of them, and it was Reyna that pulled them out of war. Percy, Jason and Annabeth sat behind them, emerged in their own conversations and yelling at the chariots. Occasionally they would ask Reyna for her opinion on something they were debating, but overall, they let her talk to Michael.

"New Rome," Michael answered. "This city is beautiful. Like something from Fitzgerald or Thakeray. Teenagers act like adults – they're forced to, because of the Legion – which means that adults act like teenagers. To catch up on lost time. Guarding secrets, creating drama, all with the mutual goal of truly remarkable power. And becoming part of this community is quite literally a birth right, but those people don't even have a choice. Most people who see this city, see the ancient architectural designs modified, they see warriors and sanctuary. I see the social and political relationships and rights."

"Wow," Reyna said, after a pause. "Yeah, you must be a good writer. You're not going to give away out security are you? Or unleash the truth to the mortal world?"

He shook his head. "When I'm done, the city will seem like a fictional place, realistic enough to mortals."

He was pretty smart. And he had a serious way with words, on page or from his own lips. Plus, he was pretty handsome... Stop! She interrupted the voice in her head that just kept pointing out everything good about Michael Kahale and sighed. Okay, maybe she did have a little crush on him.

Behind them, Percy and Jason and started playing some stupid game keep themselves entertained during an intermission. "What kind of chariot race has an intermission, anyway?" Percy asked. "This isn't the opera."

"The horses need to rest," Annabeth told them. "...Or recharge. And repairs need to be made."

Anyway, their game was basically Beer Pong, but with a plastic cup of water, sitting a few bleachers down, and with screwed up balls of paper. Annabeth watched them as both boys kept missing and groaning in complaint. Finally, Jason made a successful shot and Percy refused to believe it, claiming that Jason controlled the winds and started throwing balls of paper at the blonde instead of the cups.

"Pathetic," Jason sighed, as if disappointed in Percy being a sore loser. "Can you pass me the popcorn?"

"Can you pass me the popcorn?" Percy asked, mimicking Jason with a really high pitched voice. "Please pass me the popcorn I can't reach it with my shitty hands."

"That is not what I sound like," Jason said, rolling his eyes.

"That is not what I sound like," Percy repeated in his high-pitched tone. As if he was on helium.

Annabeth paused, observing them. "Why are you guys so mean to each other?"

"That's just how we communicate," Percy said. "On the outside I hate Jason. Deep on the inside, he's my best friend. Even deeper down than that, I hate him some more."

Jason actually sniggered. "You want another soda?" he asked gesturing to Percy's empty can. Percy nodded, and looked surprised. "Great, they're at the confectionary stand for $1.20, get me one?"

"Fuck you," Percy replied. He pointed at Annabeth. "Soda?" She nodded and thanked him. He kicked Reyna and Michael, who were sat on the bleachers in front of them and asked if they wanted one before standing up and walking away.

There was a pause after Percy left until Annabeth nudged Jason with her foot. She pointed discretely at Reyna and Michael, who both seemed to be laughing at something. "They look cute together," Annabeth mouthed.

Jason just shrugged. He wondered if, for what felt like the thousandth time, if he hadn't chosen Piper, would that be him laughing with Reyna?

Of course he didn't exactly _regret_ choosing Piper. She was his first great love. He _did_ regret abandoning Reyna. Two very different things.

When Jason didn't reply Annabeth nudged him again. "She likes him," she whispered, pointing to Reyna and Michael. Jason just rolled his eyes. It was obvious to everyone who knew even a thing about Reyna, that she liked Michael.

"You like her," Annabeth whispered after a second of realisation. His body language wasn't hard to interpret, but he stiffened at her words, his head turning frantically to Reyna to see if she heard. Thankfully she was lost in a conversation with Michael.

"How-" Jason whispered back before Annabeth cut over him.

"You're easy to read," she replied. The two of them started talking over each other, or whispering over each other, anyway. Annabeth kept saying things along the lines of "Jason, you can't! She's happy without you, you can't ruin that."

Jason, in return was saying something along the lines of: "I know, I know I can't feel like that, I don't deserve to."

"Oh, stop putting yourself down," she interrupted him in a mutter that made Reyna and Michael turn heads. Annabeth shrugged and sent them back to their own conversation before turning back to Jason. "You're allowed to feel whatever you want. I mean, it was kind of inevitable. But you can't tell her."

"I won't," he promised.

"Good," Annabeth said. "I'm glad we're on the same page about this.

The rest of the Chariot Race was pretty boring. One team won, the others complained. Reyna lost a bet to Percy about the winner and Percy and Annabeth got into an argument.

At first, it was simply about whether or not one chariot team won by cheating, or by playing fair. And then it was just another spat, another bicker. Then Annabeth claimed that Percy was cheating money off of Reyna after their bet.

After about ten minutes of bickering, it turned into more of an argument. Both of them turned to Reyna and tried to bring her into the conversation, but she managed to sneak away before the dragged her into the mess. Michael and Jason stood side-by-side, watching until both Annabeth and Percy walked away angry.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Percy lay in bed that night, thinking a lot about Annabeth. Of course, their fights were never actually serious in anyway shape or form. After falling into Hell and back, it was a little hard to actually argue about something. Because they knew it wouldn't mean anything in the long term. It would never change anything.

What they had was a great love. No matter how much they fought, no matter how much they bickered or disagreed, they would always be pulled in.

He actually had his phone in front of his face as he texted Annabeth. Now they were just bickering about the argument. Annabeth was using maths to convince him that the winning chariot won, and he should give Reyna's money back.

"You and Annabeth still fighting?" Jason asked from the bottom bunk.

"No," he sighed. "I'm talking to her now. She's trying to convince me to give Reyna's money back. Literally, it was $10 and Reyna laughed when she gave it to me. She agreed on the bet."

"She probably doesn't mean it in a controlling way," Jason said. "I know Reyna doesn't care, so I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. What emoji is she using?"

Percy sniggered. Texting had become such a big part of modern civilisation that even in the world of Gods, Monsters and Demigods, an emoji was a big deal. "The face that's crying with laughter," Percy said. "And the kissing one that we always send to each other."

"Yeah, she's just kidding," Jason said, trying not to laugh.

"What is it, Grace?" Percy asked.

Somewhere in the book of male friendships, there was some sought of rule that they must always make fun of each other. Jason and Percy did that better than anyone. Maybe it was because of their Jupiter/Poseidon rivalry, but they picked on each other for whatever they did. In the most loving way, of course.

"The kissing emoji," Jason snorted.

"Well, maybe if you weren't a sad, lonely, single, pathetic loser," Percy shrugged, "you would have reason to send the kissing emoji as well, instead of covering your jealousy with distaste."

Jason laughed. "A+ for that string of insults," he said. "Great adjectives, forceful delivery. Good job, Jackson."

Percy laughed. "I was holding back a little."

"Really?" Jason asked. "I thought it was Oscar Worthy."

There was a pause before Percy whispered: "Thank you." He sounded touched.

Jason said something else, but Percy stopped listening. His phone signalled a text message and he immediately thought it was Annabeth, continuing their debate. He pulled up his phone and checked the ID before sitting up, being careful not to bump his head on the ceiling.

It wasn't from Annabeth. His second guess would have been Reyna. Jason was on the bunk below him, and him, Annabeth and Reyna were the people he texted most nowadays. He usually called his mother and Paul; Iris-Messaged Grover, Tyson, Thalia and Rachel. E-Mailed Piper and Leo. And walked around the corner to see Frank and Hazel.

The text was from none of them, but from Nico.

Nico didn't text anyone. As a kid from the forties, he was not accustomed to phones, and preferred not to use them in general. Instead, he would come and talk to Percy in person, or call him. Percy wondered why Nico didn't call him…

He doubted it was for anything good.

He bought up the text message itself and instantly read a collection of numbers. His eyebrows knitting together in confusion. It was too small for a phone number, which was his first theory. He was about to text Nico back, asking they were for but Nico texted him again.

 _They're coordinates, Percy. Go there as soon as you can. Trust me; you're going to want to see what's there._

Percy typed the coordinates into online maps without replying to Nico. His phone screen showed the location Nico was trying to send him to and that just made him even more confused. It was just outside Muir Woods, not massively far from New Rome. Just near Mount Tamalpais.

"Percy?" Jason called from the bottom bunk. "You've gone quiet."

"Yeah, I'm just looking something up," Percy replied. "Nico texted me some coordinates and he wants me to go there."

"What? Where?" Jason asked, almost as confused as Percy.

Percy has blindly trusted Nico before, to lead him places. Nico lead him to the underworld and convinced him to bathe in the River Styx. Nico lead him to Luke's mother's house. Nico always had his reasons for sending Percy places, or taking Percy places. Nico was the guy who just knew where they were supposed to be.

So of course Percy trusted him, and knew he should go to that place… but it was still pretty scary. All of Nico's adventures ended in pain or sadness. What was this one going to be?

"Muir Woods," Percy answered. "Not too far from here. Do you know what's there?"

"I went through their once on a quest," Jason shrugged. "I don't know, a lot of trees? I think there was a National Park, but that was years ago. Who knows what's there now?"

* * *

 **A/N: HI! So this was going to be updated yesterday, but I got my new laptop (:D) yesterday and it's so slick and there's a touchscreen and I'm excited! The problem is that it's a massive upgrade from what I had before, and I'm still learning how to use it, and it's making typing go slower, so bare with me.**

 **This chapter was going to be shorter, because Percy wasn't going to get a text from Nico until next chapter, but I needed to make this one longer and less of a filler chapter. This is a drama story, and I'm going to start the drama much sooner in the second academic year.**

 **Thank you all so much for the kind reviews! They always make my day to read them! I do have big plans for Jercy friendship. I'm just not very good with writing boy/boy relationships, whether they be platonic, family, romance. I have no experience with them so I did a lot of research and asked a few guys I know how they relate to each other and tried to make it funny. I do have a very dramatic scene for them planned. And everyone who reviews saying such lovely things, or even constructive criticism, it always just makes my day, and I may not directly reply to you, but all reviews have been read and just... thank you, so much for writing them.**

 **AzureMoonlight: I'll probably write the Pancake Injury in sometime ;)**

 **Love you all! Please review! -Izzy**


	14. Chapter 14

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN:** _Wayward Soul_

November started and once again, Christmas began way too early. Annabeth started making plans to go to her father's for the Holidays, of course, with Percy by her side. "My Dad is driving down to Albany on the day we get off," she told him at one point, as they lounged in her dorm room. She sat with her laptop open on her lap as she E-Mailed her Dad. "Someone there is selling some airplane parts he wants. Anyway my Step-Mom's car is in the shop so we'll have to wait here an extra day before they can give us a lift."

"Why don't we just get the bus?" he asked, playing with a slinky he found on Reyna's dresser.

"I'm taking my laptop, a couple weeks' worth of clothes, Reyna and Jason, and about three folders of work," she said. "I don't need to be carrying all that on a bus."

"Okay, first of all," Percy said, "Reyna and Jason can walk for themselves. Second of all: since when were they even coming with us?"

"I talked to them about spending Christmas together," Annabeth said. "They've books a couple of hotel rooms near my Dad's. Reyna might be bringing Michael."

"I don't think Michael and Jason get along," Percy observed.

"Of course they don't," Annabeth sniggered. "They both fancy Reyna."

Percy turned to Annabeth in shock, which she thought was adorable. "Jason fancies Reyna?"

Annabeth nodded. "Duh." Percy leaned back and huffed, thinking back to his recent conversations with Jason about Reyna. "Why do you think they dislike each other?"

Percy explained how, earlier in November, the two boys got thrown into a competition against each other for an award for Sociology Writing. Jason had seemed very determined to win it. He stayed up revising and writing his piece. Spell check became his best friend, and he constantly asked Percy to proof-read his stuff. He seemed to really want to win, even though he didn't even care about writing, and barely about sociology.

Now Percy understood why.

It had been a full month since Nico texted Percy the coordinates, and Percy still hadn't left to find them. He had texting Nico back: _Is there a time limit on this thing?_ It would be ideal to do it during the Holidays, so he's not missing out on any lectures. Plus, Annabeth would be less suspicious. Nico had told him not to tell Annabeth or Reyna straight away, which confused him.

And he didn't lie to Annabeth. He told her he needed to run an errand for Nico at some point and she didn't ask. She trusted them, so she didn't need all the details. With Reyna, it didn't have to, or need to, come up.

Nico had replied, telling him to get it done before the New Year. He was still keeping secrets. He had asked Nico what it was Nico wanted him to see, but Nico just said Percy would have to see it in person to understand.

"Won't we be a major monster attraction if we bring the others?" Percy said.

Annabeth looked at him, confused. "Percy, we kill monsters. That's our thing."

"Yeah, stupid comment," he said. "That's why the villagers call me silly nicknames like Seaweed Brain. Like, are we trying to offend a kitten?"

"I was twelve when I came up with that nickname," she defended herself. "And you call me Wise Girl, which is actually more of a compliment."

"Touché," he said. "But when you say any kind of insult it's terrifying. Or when you say anything."

She looked confused. "I'm not scary," she defended. She thought back a minute, to every person who'd ever been afraid of her, or everyone she yelled at. Percy gave her a look that said 'duh'. Finally, she looked back up at him. "Am I scary?"

"I wouldn't be exaggerating if I said Medusa wanted her evil glare back," he said.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Jason, you have to move away, you're going to get me in trouble," Reyna said. She was working her shift at the coffee shop, complaining all the while. Percy was moving about the building, but Reyna was behind the counter, Jason leaning against it. She was supposed to be approachable, which she wasn't if Jason kept pulling her into a conversation. Not that she minded it though…

"Reyna we're friends again," he sniggered. "You're supposed to tell me about your dates."

"It's not a date," she said, rolling her eyes. Michael wanted to spend the day with her at one point and she had agreed, smiling. "It's two friends, hanging out. It's not a big deal."

"You seem excited," he said. "I know your excited face. It's a little different from your sad face, neither of which stray too far from your _hey it's Tuesday!_ face."

She raised an eyebrow. "I get it. You think I'm too serious, is that it?"

He shrugged. "Well I wasn't going to say it like _that_ , but…"

She rolled her eyes. "I was Praetor when I lead this Legion into war," she said. "I had to deal with treason, betrayal and enemies as I ran Rome, all by myself. One gets a little serious. You need to be cold to be Queen."

"You're forgetting that I was praetor once, too," he said. "But now we're in college. Loosen up." She ignored him at first until he leaned on the counter and threw a very feminine smile at her. "What are you going to wear on your date?" he asked, mocking what sounded like a teenage girl at a slumber party.

"It's not a date," she said, smiling. She thought about Michael's smile. He usually smiled, unless he was concentrating. He only really concentrated on his book, which she had watched him write before. He had her over, claiming she was inspiration. "I mean, so what if it was?" she asked, running her hand through her hair. Which was hard, since it was in a ponytail.

"So it is?" he asked. His tone went from joking to serious, really quick. Her eyebrows bunched together as she studied his facial expression. When he thought it wasn't a date, he was happy. When he thought it was a date, he wasn't.

"What's your objection?" she asked. He paused. There was really only one reason he didn't want her to go on that date and he knew he shouldn't tell her. He didn't have that right. She was happy without him; he shouldn't tell her. She looked expectant, as if she knew the answer before he said it. She was really well with facial expressions. Not only did she know the answer, however, she wanted it. She wanted to hear him say it. He wondered, if he did say it, if he told her the truth, would she cancel the date?

If only Jason knew that she would have. She would have cancelled, remained friends with Michael. She loved Jason, he was her family, and she wouldn't do to him with Michael what he did to her with Piper. Or at least, she liked to think she wouldn't. When she asked for his objection to the date, it was because she genuinely wanted to know, because his opinion was one of the only opinions she trusted, and she would have taken it into account. If he told her the truth, she would have listened.

Instead he told her: "I don't have an objection." He lied, and she believed it. He didn't tell her the truth and she didn't even think about cancelling her date.

"Are you going to order something or not?" she asked, turning away from him and changing the subject. "Let me guess, Venti Iced Coffee with two pumps Vanilla and two pumps Cinnamon Dulce. Right?"

He smirked. "You know me too well," he said.

"Everybody does," she answered.

"Are you saying I'm predictable?" he asked, pretending to be hurt.

She flicked a strand of hair out of her face and smiled at him. "Well I wasn't going to say it like _that_ , but…"

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Can you proof-read this paragraph?" Jason asked, turning his laptop to Percy for what felt like the billionth time. November had turned to December and sooner than Percy could process, the Holidays had started. The Sociology Writing award came to an end before the New Year, and Jason was going over his entry.

"Three things," Percy said. "One: Stop being so worried. I read your piece and it's brilliant. I don't even know how it came from an idiot like you. Two: It's supposed to be your own piece of work and continuously asking for my opinion is cheating. Three: We both know you're not doing this because you actually want the award."

Jason paused, ignoring him as he turned his laptop back to him. Percy was filling his backpack with everything he needed for the drive. Now that the Holidays began, Percy had no excuse to avoid travelling to Nico's unknown destination.

"Jason," Percy said, sighing. "You know Reyna doesn't care about this award right? Winning it doesn't equal winning her."

"I'm not trying to win her," Jason said.

"Winning it isn't going to woo her," Percy said, pausing what he was doing to turn to his best friend. "Jason, it's not going to make a difference."

"It does to me," Jason said, not making eye-contact with Percy as he spoke. "This is the kind of award you could put on a resume."

"You don't care about your resume," Percy said. "You care about her, and competing with Michael isn't just going to make her swap boys."

"Are they dating then?" Jason asked, absent-mindedly. But Percy knew his whole mind was wondering.

Percy paused. "I don't know. Annabeth told me they haven't kissed yet, but I don't know if that means they're dating. I don't think they are. But even if they were, it's none of your business. Jason, listen to me."

"I am listening," Jason said, sounding exasperated as if he had had the same conversation a thousand times. "I know it's none of my business. I'm just curios."

"You know we're buying two hotel rooms," Percy mused. "When we leave tomorrow. You know Michael and Reyna might well share a room…" Jason didn't reply, he just shrugged. "Just trying to prepare you in case that is the case. But Reyna might want a room to herself and you might have to share with Michael – in which case, you better be nice. It's Christmas."

"Have you packed everything?" Jason interrupted, changing the conversation as he turned to Percy's backpack. "You sure you don't need me to come with you?"

Percy nodded. "I spoke to Nico on the phone the other day. He really seemed to want me to go alone. He wouldn't put me in any danger. I trust him." It sounded more like a question than a statement.

"It's probably got something to do with Annabeth," Jason said. "I mean, I'm not saying Nico plays favourites, but he'd probably go to Hazel or Reyna if it was for anything else."

"But what about Annabeth?" Percy asked, more to himself than to Jason.

He said goodbye to Jason, and told him that he'd probably be back in a couple hours. He texted Annabeth that he was hitting the road. He grabbed Riptide from Terminus on his way out of the city and it felt strangely refreshing to have the pen back in his pocket, ready for use.

When Percy got his driving licence, his mother, Paul and himself all started saving towards a car. He also took some money out of a small trust-fund his mother created him. They managed to get him a fairly sleek, blue Toyota. Yes, of course it had to be blue.

He had parked it in a garage a few blocks down from the entrance to New Rome, so it didn't take him too long to sit behind the wheel.

He typed the coordinates into the GPS system and texted Nico quickly to tell him he was on his way. He pulled out of the garage and instantly his mind was filled with theories. Was there a particular monster Nico wanted him to take care of? Was there something about Luke that Percy needed to know, like last time?

Or the ever more disturbing – was there something mysterious unknown about Percy's own past and upbringing that will change the way Percy viewed everything in the future? As well as changing everything about Percy until he had a completely different soul?

He sniggered. No, this wasn't a cheesy romance novel… or was it?

Percy shook his head, kind of in shock and turned the radio on, wishing Annabeth sat shot gun.

The roads were unsurprisingly full of traffic. That was the day everybody got off of work and went home for Christmas, so the streets were full of people ruching to get home. Percy just sighed as he leaned back in his chair.

It made the drive a lot longer than it should have been. Percy wondered if he would make it before New Years at this speed, and somehow doubted it. He considered getting out and walking, but he wouldn't be able to take the GPS with him, so would likely get lost. No, he would definitely get lost.

He finally pulled his car up outside the woods, when afternoon turned to evening. It had lightly snowed over the past couple days, so he was wrapped up in a coat and scarf. Honestly, he probably looked the most mature he ever had. Driving, wrapping up for the winter without his Mom yelling at him to do so.

The snow around the forest had been untouched, no footprints to be seen around the desert area. He created them as he walked, holding a compass in front of him as he tried to find the location. Why did Nico have to send him somewhere so remote? Why did it have to be so hard to find?

Why couldn't Nico send him to McDonalds for once? There was a McDonalds everywhere he went! It would be easy, save time, and he could eat! Because at that moment, he was super hungry. He would kill for a Big Mac.

After what felt like hours of walking around, he finally saw something. It wasn't in the forest, it was on the edge of the forest, surrounded by trees but not so remote that it was hard, exactly, to get to. Percy didn't reach the exact coordinates, but he saw where he was going in the distance. There was nothing else around.

His first thought was Camp Half-Blood. The place was definitely a camp, lit by torches of fire. There were huts made out of wood, but the majority was made out of straw. There was a large campfire in the centre that people moved around and for a second Percy was afraid Nico had sent him to watch a human sacrifice.

Everybody seemed to wear the same white t-shirt, with the letters: MWCS on in black. Percy wondered what they were for.

There were near a lake and there was a wooden bridge crossing it not too. The whole camp was filled with light, and very big. It clearly wasn't a private place. There was one large building made out of wood that seemed to be the headquarters and Percy started to walk there, despite his doubts.

"What is this place?" he muttered to himself, as he saw the banner. Muir Wood Christian Sanctuary it read, with a picture of a dove. A Christian Sanctuary. Nico didn't send him there to prey, Percy must have been in the wrong place.

"Welcome!" said a voice near him. He turned to a cheery, middle-aged woman, with a curly blonde bob-cut and a large camp t-shirt. He remembered C.C's island, how Hylla had greeted them with a clipboard. Similar to the clipboard in this woman's hand. Was this place a monster camp? He bought Riptide out of his pocket and twirled it around in his hand. "Are you a Wayward Soul in search of a lighter path?"

Percy wondered what Wayward meant, but thought it had something to do with being lost. He sniggered a little. "No, um, I think I'm in the wrong place…"

He was interrupted by a high-pitched voice squealing his name. "Percy Jackson?!" it asked, in complete surprise. He turned to try and locate the speaker, and when he did, he hardly recognised her.

Her hair had gone from curly to naturally wavy, and she had decorated it with plaits, almost like Piper did. Her cheeks were read from the cold and she was also wrapped up in a coat. Not her old, designer one, but a more casual one. And weirdest of all: she was smiling, a genuine, happy smile as if pleased to see him.

But she was still Camille. The girl who drugged and tried to hurt his girlfriend. Percy paused, in shock, as she bounced over to him.

Before he could stop her, she flung her arms around his shoulders, in a hug that seemed full of happiness. He cocked an eyebrow at her as she pulled away and beamed at him. It had been seven months by that point, since she had been shipped away, curtesy of Reyna, to a boot camp for troubled young girls. And now she was here, happy, and hugging him.

She never stopped smiling as she rubbed his arms, as if trying to keep him warm. "Have you been saved, too?" she asked.

* * *

 **A/N: I wasn't going to bring Camille back until much later in the story, but I needed to squeeze in other storylines so I needed to bring her back sooner. Chiron said something in the first book about Religion not necessarily being false just because of Olympus, so it was alright to keep it in there.**

 **Yes, I did make a reference to one of my favourite Buzzfeed videos 'Signs You Found Your Sarcastic Soulmate'. For those of you who haven't watched it, look it up on YouTube! It screamed Jercy at me, to be honest. I fully intended to give credit, I just completely forgot.** **Speaking of credit, I also stole a joke from TVD in here. Sorry!**

 **IMPORTANT: There is something wrong with my reviews. It says I have 41, but it's only showing me 39! Two of them are missing to me, which is awful because I want to read what you guys think. It's apparently not just hidden from me, because my friend visited this fic on another device and she couldn't see them either and they haven't come up in my e-mail.**

 **So the last two people who reviewed, I didn't get them. You can either PM them to me, or leave it. But if you can see the reviews, to PM me and let me know what they say! The last review I can see if from 'ngsie' so if you can see any after that, please PM me and tell me what they say? But for the time being, I'm asking you for the first time, please DO NOT review until I fix this problem. Thank you! -Izzy**


	15. Chapter 15

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN:** _Freeing From Sin_

Cami gave Percy an official tour of the camp. She spoke almost the entire time, about all of the different programs they held, and what the camp was all about. A sanctuary, for anybody in danger or troubled, so they can find Jesus.

"Christmas is our busiest time of year," she told him. "Suicide rates hit the roof and there are so many lost souls that need our help. We try to keep the kids away from such depression as we help them. And that's my job. All day tomorrow and some of today I'm baby-sitting the little ones so some of the other volunteers can discuss options with those tortured people."

Percy just knitted his eyebrows as he listened to her. He hardly ever replied as he looked around the place. A lot of people started singing carols around a camp fire as the day began to end. Camille never stopped talking, not even for a second. Percy didn't trust her and he didn't like her, but he listened.

"It's brilliant," he muttered after a while, his hands in his pockets as he thought to himself.

Camille shrugged. "It's not that hard. Just give the kids some glue and balloons and some newspaper and let them go wild. You're more than welcome to come along and stay here for a while if you're thinking of taking our faith."

Percy shook his head. "Not that. You. Convincing these people that you're a Jesus Freak so you don't have to go to boot camp."

There was a pause as she sighed. She seemed sad that he would think that way, but he didn't believe her act for a second. He knew she was too manipulative and sneaky to tell the truth. "I'm sorry you feel that way," she said. "I'm sorry you believe that."

"I do believe that," he said. "And you've given me good reason to."

"Why can't you believe that people can change?" she asked, crossing her arms at him. He remembered her old, menacing glare. She didn't seem to have that on her anymore. She seemed more hurt, but definitely more peaceful.

"People can change," Percy said, thinking about Luke. Thinking about Clarisse and how she went from bully to hero. "Just not you," he continued, shrugging.

"You're wrong," she told him. She held her chin up confidently and pushed her shoulders back. It seemed as though she really believed in what she was saying. "You know, as bad as boot camp was, it really opened my eyes."

She thought for a minute and shuddered. Reyna, who had no mercy, had picked out her boot camp, so Percy wondered how bad it had to be. What did they make Camille do? She must not have been there for long, since they only sent her away seven months before hand. Plus, she would have had to spend time with this Christian Camp.

"It made me realise the person I had become," she continued, shaking the thought away. Percy raised his eyebrows as she said this. "Manipulative, cruel, jealous. Vengeful. I didn't want to be that person. I don't want to be the villain of the story. It sickened me that I was."

Percy didn't reply, or ask what happened next. Instead, he was busy wondering what kind of story she was talking about. He guessed Annabeth would be the star as all the drama that happened last year happened to her. He would be the main love interest. Reyna would be the token, foreign best friend. Jason would be reliable guy best friend. Camille was definitely the villain.

"I decided to do something about it," Camille said, dragging him out of his daydream and back into their conversation. "I went to church." Percy scoffed, finding it hard to imagine Camille and Church in the same sentence. It was hard to picture her preying at all. "I found Jesus," she continued, as if it was as casual as bumping into a friend on the street. "I told him all my sins."

"I bet that was a long talk," Percy said.

Camille ignored him. "He forgave me," she told him, sounding very proud of herself. "Look, I know it sounds crazy. It felt crazy to me as well. I didn't think I would be excepted or forgiven, but I was. And for the first time in my life… I'm happy."

Percy sighed. He didn't really know what to say to that. Demigods all had hard backgrounds, all had troubled pasts. Cami's was probably no different. Not to mention the fact that she would always be controlled by revenge. She had finally struck gold with Octavian only to have him blown up before the life they were planning could actually take place. And even if she was faking it, if she was lying, she did seem happy. And Percy kind of felt for her.

"But I'm guessing…" Camille mused, "you're not here to be saved?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm her because Nico di Angelo sent me," he answered. "Which I doubt is because he wanted me to see your new-found spirit."

"He's Hazel Levesque's brother, right?" she asked. Percy nodded and Camille pointed over his shoulder. "Well then, she'd be the reason."

Percy turned around and saw Hazel, showing a group of kids how their sippy cups worked. Percy separated from Camille, who went back to her work, as he went over to talk to her. "Hazel," he said, almost like a question. "Have you been moved by the grace of God?"

"Percy?" she asked, surprised. She straightened up and sent the kids back to their parents. She had one of the camp t-shirts tucked into her jeans and wore an open shirt over the top. Her thick hair was up in a bun and she was covered in dirt, probably because she was playing with the kids all over the forest. "What are you doing here?"

"Nico sent me," he said. "What's going on?"

Hazel rolled his eyes. "Nico can't keep a secret," she said. "No, I'm not turning to Jesus, by the way. I'm here on business." Rome was her business. Reyna had left her as praetor and Hazel had been determined to make Reyna proud.

"What do these people have to do with Rome?" he asked.

"These people don't," Hazel said. "Camille does. It's time for her to come home, Percy."

There was a long pause before Hazel walked him up towards the main building of the camp and over to the miniature café. She ordered them both hot chocolate and got Percy a muffin as well. He didn't say anything until his food arrived.

"Are you serious?" he asked. "She threatened Annabeth, drugged her! She woke up in a hotel room with no one and she didn't know where she was. I'm not going to let that happen to her again, Hazel, no way."

"Okay, Percy," Hazel said. "Don't, for a second, think that we're disregarding that. But look at Camille now! She prays, she plays with the children, she supports people in pain. I've been here for two months, observing her to see if she's safe enough to come home and she hasn't once broken her smile."

"You believe her?" Percy asked. "Because I don't! She's a psychopath, Hazel!"

"Either way," she said, sighing. She looked kind of sad about it. "She needs to go back to college. If we keep her away for any longer, she won't get a sufficient college education, she won't get the degree she wants and it'll affect the rest of her life."

Percy didn't reply. He wondered, as a Senate Member, if he would get a vote and decided he probably wouldn't.

"Percy, it isn't fair to keep her here any longer," she said. "Just because she, um, sinned, doesn't mean it's right to destroy what could potentially be the rest of her life."

"What precautions are you going to take?" he asked.

"Well, she won't be allowed to take classes Annabeth is in," she said. "Her dorm will be on the other side of campus and she will be treated like an ex-addict, with regular dorm searches for drugs or any manipulative equipment, like tiny cameras. And she'll have a 24/7 supervisor."

"I volunteer," Percy said. "Nobody else would do the job properly."

Hazel raised an eyebrow. "A happy, kind and soothing supervisor."

"I can be soothing," he said. He leaned forward. "I could soothe your ass off, Hazel."

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fine, you can do it. If it makes you feel better about her return… Percy, Annabeth is my friend. I don't want to do this anymore than you do. But I wouldn't put her in any danger."

"When are you bringing Camille back?" Percy asked.

"Hopefully… now."

"What?!" he exclaimed. "Right now?"

"That was the plan," she said. "Before the camp hours close and curfew is enforced, I'm meant to sign her out and get going."

"Without any warning?" he asked. "You couldn't have sat Annabeth and I down – and Reyna, who worked to get her gone – and warn us what was going to happen? She's the daughter of revenge and Reyna sent her ass to boot camp!"

"We'll keep an eye on her interaction with Reyna as well," Hazel said. "Percy, we have to." There was a long sigh before Hazel shrugged. "Fine. Look, Percy, I trust you. If you really have a problem with this, if you have such a bad feeling about this that you honestly don't think it could possibly work out then we'll cancel it."

"You'd… leave her here?" Percy said.

Hazel shrugged again. "If you honestly believe that's the best thing to do."

Percy looked out of the window. Camille was visible amongst the trees, a group of kids around her as she led them to one of the more stable buildings. Percy watched as she stopping in her tracks to catch a butterfly. She knelt down and showed it to the kids and Percy couldn't help but feel that she looked kind of… innocent.

"No," he sighed. "Don't cancel it. Bring her home."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Michael sat on Reyna's couch in the dorm room, as she folded up the last few things for her suitcase. Annabeth's Dad was going to drive them all to a hotel in San Francisco to Christmas so they could spend it with Annabeth and Percy, who would be staying in Annabeth's house.

Between the two of them, Michael was the one that was always talking. Which was how she preferred it. She didn't like having to keep a conversation going, she liked being the one that listened. And she didn't like talking about herself too much.

So she didn't. Until he asked her too.

"There's not much to know about me," she shrugged, zipping up her bag and sitting next to it, flicking a strand of hair from her face.

"I don't believe that," he said, sitting next to her. "Look, Reyna. You're 'mystery girl', and I like that. But I want to be the one who knows you."

"I'm 'mystery girl'?" she asked, actually smiling for once. Michael couldn't help admire how it lit up her eyes.

He shrugged. "You're my muse for a reason."

Writer's inspiration. She paused and her face fell, not out of unhappiness or distaste but out of shock. Michael was a very skilled writer; he could create the most majestic worlds in under a second during a daydream. Sometimes he would repeat his ideas to Reyna, who was always amazed by what he came up with. And always surprised. And she was his muse.

"I'm your muse?" she asked in disbelief. "I didn't think I was that interesting."

He nodded, as if it should be obvious. He touched her neck and said: "Reyna, I could write an entire book about you." There was a slight pause and Reyna vaguely wondered if he was going to kiss her or if she should kiss him or what. "And I am," he continued.

"Wait what?" she asked.

He pulled away. "I'm writing a book about New Rome. Who better to star in it that the Queen of the City? And before you say it, yes. You are still the queen and you will always be. You banished someone a few months ago, you have the praetors wrapped around your pinky finger."

She smirked. "Well um… thank you. I'll remember that for my sad days."

"Of course, in the book your name's Reyanna."

"Reyanna's a name?" Reyna said, laughing.

He nodded. "It is, I googled it."

When they stopped laughing, Michael leaned a little forward before looking vaguely regretful. Reyna's face fell as he waited for her to close the gap. There was a pause before she did just that, leaning forward to kiss him.

And it was only a second later that her door burst open and Jason jumped in with a grin on his face. "Rey, look I…" He trailed off and his face fell when he saw Reyna and Michael pull apart. He looked a little awkward before saying: "Sorry."

"Of course you are," Michael said, seeming casual and happy, but Reyna could tell from his tone that he was trying to be resentful and sarcastic.

"Michael," she scolded. She turned to Jason and smiled at her best friend. "What is it?"

He held up a certificate, not looking as happy as he had been. "I won that writing contest. Sorry Michael, I'm sure yours wasn't terrible."

Michael shrugged. "It's fine. You seem really happy you won it, I didn't really care, so it's probably best that you won. You seem so happy you won it though. Is this first time winning something?"

Reyna had watched Percy and Jason insult each other to the ends of the world, in the friendliest way possible. This wasn't friendly banter; this was just them trying to be mean to each other. They said friendly things, but Rena could tell by how they said it that they were trying to insult each other.

"Okay, both of you, cut it out," she said.

They did, for about a minute as Reyna tried to figure out their distaste towards each other.

"Anyway, sorry you had to walk in on Reyna and I kissing," Michael said. Reyna vaguely wondered if he was gloating. And if so – why? Jason was her best friend. The idea made her angry. Nobody showed her off like a prize, and nobody tried to make her friends feel bad.

"Well it would explain her scowl," Jason shrugged.

Before either of them could resist Reyna had bumped their heads together like two naughty children. "Ow!" they said, in unison. They turned to Reyna as they rubbed their heads but before either of them could say anything, the door opened and Annabeth walked in.

"Guys, my Dad pulled up outside New Rome," she said.

"Hold on," Michael said. He turned back to Jason and almost instantly an argument broke out.

Michael had a go at Jason, who started having a go at Michael. Reyna was trying to get them to both shut up but they didn't, so then she got mad at them for that. Annabeth was trying to usher them all out to the car, somewhat unsuccessfully as nobody moved. Then she got mad at them all for ignoring her and then Michael got mad at Annabeth for getting involved. Then Reyna argued with Michael for getting mad at Annabeth.

Basically, it was one giant collection of arguments and they were all talking at once. Nobody could even really hear themselves and everyone sought of forgot who they were mad at after the first five or ten minutes. Reyna had never known more drama than her college life.

Soon after Percy came into the room and kept trying to shut everyone up. "Guys!" he kept calling but everyone was too invested in the argument to pay much attention to him.

Percy was very scared. He had actually driven Camille and Hazel home. Hazel had been called into some urgent work as soon as they walked into Rome and Percy remembered how stressing Praetor work was. She ran off and Percy was left to take Camille back to campus.

He had thought everyone was in his and Jason's dorm room, or in the car by that point. They had all been leaving their stuff for San Francisco in the boys' room so it made sense for them to be there. He was not expecting them to be in the girls' dorm.

Hazel had warned the University Offices of Cami's return, and she had had to go in there to sort our rooms and classes with them. Unfortunately, the offices were located in a building that spent most of their income on cleaners to provide them with pristine furniture and spotless windows and glasses, whilst Camille had just spent the last few months in a forest and looked something like the kid from The Jungle Book, only with a sufficient amount of clothes.

They told her, politely, to wash up before their meeting and Percy thought everyone was in the boys' room so he had planned on sneaking Camille in and out of the girls' shower. He wanted to tell Annabeth, Jason and Reyna when they were all in good moods over Christmas, so walking in on them all arguing and Camille right behind him was a mistake.

Nobody actually noticed she was there until Annabeth's phone rang and Cami checked the caller ID before looking up to everyone. "Does anyone know a Jenny Ward?" she called to the group of people who all turned and noticed she was there.

There was a variety of places people looked. Annabeth glared at Camille, not quite believing what she was seeing. Reyna had long since moved on from Camille and glared at Percy for bringing her back, undoing everything Reyna did last summer. Jason kept swapping from the girls to Percy, wondering if Percy had to run soon, and whether or not to help him. Michael was squinting as Camille, probably trying to recognise her.

But everyone was silent. That lasted for about a minute and neither Camille or Percy spoke. Until everyone simultaneously blurted out something different.

"What the HELL, Jackson?" Annabeth shouted.

"Why are bringing her back here?" Jason yelled, angrily.

"In MY dorm room?" Reyna growled, her arms crossed.

" _What_ is going on?" Michael exclaimed, a second too late.

Percy paused, looking at the three angry faces and Michael's confused one. "I can explain," he said, holding up his hands in surrender.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey! Update on the reviews: Last chapter I asked you guys not to review because I couldn't see them! But you did anyway (thank you btw) and it's been torture not being able to read 4 new reviews. It was like that for a week or so now and I e-mailed support thingy but I think there was an error and I kind of pestered them. Now, FINALLY, they fixed the problem and I can see what you guys have written. So, as per usual, please review!**

 **Oh the drama I have planned. I'm going to tell you right now, the angst level is high. Because I'm evil, let's be honest here. -Izzy**


	16. Chapter 16

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN:** _Troublesome Emotions_

Work became a little harder for Percy after he bought Camille home. His co-worker started trying to punish him by making life that little bit harder. Reyna became less careful with sharp knives whenever she was around him. She never actually hurt him, but she gave him a few near-death scares.

It wasn't until she attempted to 'spill' boiling hot water on him that they actually talked. Obviously he controlled the water to put it back in the coffee maker after she 'slipped' and she looked surprised, as if she forgot he could do that. "How clumsy of you," he said.

She shrugged, as if she hadn't just tried to burn him. "Oops," she said, innocently before turning her back on him. He stopped her and sighed.

"Do you want to, maybe, stop hating me?" he asked.

"Hm," she mused, crossing her arms as she pretended to consider it. "No," she decided, trying once again to walk away. She poured one person a cup of coffee before Percy appeared at her side again.

"Reyna, will you please just talk to me?" he asked. " _Without_ trying to cut off my fingers?"

She grabbed his arm and dragged him behind the counter before lowering her voice. "Percy, this job is sad. It's pathetic and it consists of serving people. I hate doing it. But I have bills to pay, food to buy, books to buy and wifi to pay for, so I come in every day when I'm not in lectures and I pour coffee. I need this job, so will you please refrain from starting an argument when the boss is just in the back and can hear every word you're saying?"

He rolled his eyes. She didn't often change the subject when she was mad at someone. Unless it was with Jason or Michael or Annabeth. But that was purely because she didn't want to argue with her friends. Percy felt a little touched that he was treated the same.

Reyna was cold. Everyone could tell that. She once told him 'You need to be cold to be Queen' so she wore it like a crown. She was hard, and could be very mean. She was an amazing leader, but she could be harsh if she needed to. But, if you were someone really, really special, Reyna would decide that you were family. And when she decided you were family, she would die for you.

"Reyna," he sighed. "Just talk to me. I'm sorry, okay? It was Hazel who did it, she was the one who wanted Camille back!"

Reyna studied him, scowling. Her obsidian eyes were narrowed, which was scary in itself. "Hazel is smart," she said. "I gave her praetorship for reasons other than the fact Frank wanted her by his side. She knows what Camille is capable of and she trusts you. I don't believe for one second that she didn't give you a vote in the matter."

He paused, remembering Hazel telling him they could cancel her return if he wanted. He just sighed, not being able to respond.

"That's what I thought," Reyna said. "So let me tell you everything I know about the situation. Last summer Camille drugged Annabeth and tried to frame her for addiction, which could put her entire college education in jeopardy. Annabeth woke up in a hotel room, not knowing where she was. You and Jason called in the cavalry, you needed my help.

"So I stayed up all night, finding dirt on Camille and finding ways to use it against her, finding out how she was going to attack Annabeth and how to turn the tables. I called in different reinforces and researched different boot camps. Everything I did, I did it to protect Annabeth, and by bringing Camille back, you've completely disregarded everything I did."

"I didn't mean to," Percy said. "I was just trying to, like, not ruing Camille's life-"

"I don't give a damn," Reyna sighed.

She started preparing a couple orders they had going and Percy paused before trying to make conversation. "Compitalia is opening tonight," he said. "Are you going?"

"Are you?" she asked. Percy nodded. "Then no."

He just rolled his eyes. "Can you at least try to be friendly?"

She turned to him, menacingly. "That's the thing, Percy," she said. "I don't think I want to be friends anymore."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Compitalia. An ancient Roman festival that took place in early January for a total of three days. From what Percy could gather, people sacrificed hens over an alter and there was something to do with crossroads. He knew crossroads meant choices. He also knew that people built shrines during this time and sacrificed more things to purify their stuff for the upcoming year.

Now, lately the praetors were talking about modernizing New Rome. Jason and Reyna had begun trying to make some of the feasts less dark. When Percy became Praetor, he once came across some of Reyna's old plans to bring cars into New Rome.

Hazel and Frank had been thinking about adding a few modern adjustments to the classical traditions. For example: instead of sacrificing live animals to the crowd (in front of some vegetarians), everyone sacrificed something personal to them for the three days, like lent, but shorter.

There was a feast on the first opening night, but everyone was getting rather bored of feasts so over the next couple days there was a lot of games, a lot of stalls set up, kind of like a carnival. But the games all had some sort of origin from Rome.

The streets were filled with purple and gold bunting and there were often crowds cheering. Along with all of the stalls, Frank had also arranged for a Ferris Wheel to be set up, so people have options other than the game stalls.

There was also a time table of traditional-themed activities set up for each evening of the festival and live music was played by musicians from New Rome all along the via praetoria, where most of this was all set up.

Jason was trying out one of the gaming stalls that had just been set up. Whack The Winds, it was called. Like Whack A Mole, but instead of a mole, little statues of Boreas, Aeolus, Eurus, Notus and Zephyrus popped up.

Reyna leaned against the wall of the stall beside him, smirking as he constantly failed. "It's pretty incredible, isn't it?" she asked, looking around the street as the stalls glowed up in the dark evening. "Do you remember how hard it was, as praetors, to make the Demigods who were born in the 21st century, or in the nineties, interested in their own heritage?"

"Hm," Jason nodded, growing angry as a tiny Boreas tricked him yet again. "Hazel and Frank are good at their jobs. This whole set up is… interesting."

"They have Ferris Wheel," Reyna said, pointing to the fairly small, but colourful ride. "If that doesn't get the kids interested, I don't know what will."

Jason looked at the ride, which was starting its first ride of the night, as his game ended. "Do you want to go on it?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Why not? But let's wait until the line's died down a bit."

* * *

On the other side of the festival, Percy was spending the feast trying to talk to Annabeth.

After he came home with Camille, Annabeth had gone to spend Christmas with her Dad, taking Reyna, Jason and Michael with her but leaving Percy behind. She was mad. Beyond mad. She was angrier with him than she had ever been.

"Annabeth," he said, sitting next to her during the feast. She turned away from the people she was talking to and put her slice of pizza down before turning to him.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"Can you please just stop being mad at me?" he asked. "It was Hazel's idea, okay? And yes, she gave me a vote-"

The people she had been talking to, her Environmental Professor and a few people taking that course, were beginning to eavesdrop and Percy vaguely wanted to hit them.

"Did she not offer to cancel the entire thing?" Annabeth asked. "All you had to do was say yes. Or at least call me and discuss it with me first!"

"Hazel convinced me that it was the right thing to do," Percy said. "And I think it was. We can't cancel her entire college education."

Now, pretty much the whole table had stopped what they were doing to pay attention to the drama. Percy and Annabeth – the perfect couple. Fighting?

Annabeth glared at him and he stopped talking. "There are other colleges," she said, sounding dangerously quiet. "She didn't have to come back to this one. You could have called me into the situation and we could have discussed other options with Hazel."

"Annabeth-"

"Don't Percy," she said. "Camille put me through actual Hell last summer, okay? And you were given a choice, and you chose to throw her back into my life. And you don't even think you're in the wrong! You won't even admit it!"

People from other tables began listening in, telling each other to shut up. They all knew Camille was back, and they also all knew about the scandal last summer. They had been waiting for reactions, and here they were.

"She's not back in your life," Percy said. "She's just back in New Rome-"

"Hi Percy," said a voice over Annabeth's shoulder. She turned to Camille and growled. Cami must have, like so many others, overheard their fight and come running.

"Good point," Annabeth said, sarcastically to Percy before storming off.

Camille shook her head at Annabeth, smiling, before sighing. "I have so much love in my heart for that girl," she informed Percy. "I've been praying over time for everything I did to her."

Percy just ignored her as he followed Annabeth. "Annabeth, wait," he called, running after her. "What does this mean? You won't even talk to me-"

"It means I'm really angry," Annabeth said. "So if I were you… I would just stay away for now."

"No," he told her, chasing after her and touching her arm in an attempt to get her to stop. He regretted it when she put him into a wrist lock. Everybody came running now, trying to see if Annabeth would beat him up, if they would break up. Percy doubted it, but it kind of offended him. These people saw a future where he and Annabeth were not head over heels in love.

"Guys, stop it," Camille said, running back onto the scene. People reached for their weapons, flexed and prepared to hold her back in case she tried to hurt either Percy or Annabeth. "Stop fighting about me," she ordered them, pushing people back so she could talk to the couple. Her eyes were wide and her voice was higher pitched than it used to be.

Annabeth paused, her grey eyes studying Camille. "That's probably exactly what you want, isn't it?" she asked, releasing Percy with a slight push. "I bet this was all part of your grand plan? Make Percy and I fall apart?"

"I don't have a grand plan," Camille said. "I'm here to get my head down and learn. Maybe make a friend. I'm here to build a life for myself, Annabeth. I've been forgiven, I'm not going to go against God's word again."

Annabeth scoffed. A crowd of people had gathered around them, Percy suspected most of the feast. He could see Reyna and Jason working their way forward to try and help out and Percy felt they kind of needed Reyna to intervene.

"Don't you miss it?" Annabeth asked, sarcastically. She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at Cami. "Wasn't it so much fun? Getting stoned, breaking the rules. Slipping people drugs."

"Those things don't call to me anymore," Camille said. "I let go of the evil so I could find love and happiness with the good. I know it sounds dull, but it's my life now."

"I don't believe you, for one," Reyna said, joining in the fight. She stepped up next to Annabeth.

"Reyna," Camille said, her face falling. Jason had walked through with Reyna and was standing next to Percy, although he didn't make eye contact. Percy wondered what his problem was before he realised that Jason was made at him as well. "God will give me a way to earn your forgiveness," Cami continued, looking at Reyna. "I'm sure of it. Look, I gave up my old ways when I let Jesus take the wheel."

" _That_ is a Carrie Underwood song," Annabeth said, pointing at Camille. "Not a life choice."

Camille looked like she wanted to reply, but Reyna interrupted. "I don't believe for a second you're not here for revenge," Reyna said. "Jesus or no Jesus. If you cut revenge out of the bible, there's barely enough pages to make a pamphlet."

The crowd was watching eagerly, waiting to see who threw the first punch. Percy saw a few people placing bets and started trying to break up the crowd. Jason started to convince Camille to leave and pulled Annabeth and Reyna away from the argument. People started breaking up, going back to what they were doing.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Reyna went back to her dorm room with Annabeth and let her rant. She paced back and forth, complaining about Percy and Camille and both. Eventually, at about 2am, she fell asleep and Reyna walked out, trying to clear her head.

Nothing worked better than taking long walks in the middle of the night.

She ended up walking out of New Rome. The games had closed down for the night, the Ferris Wheel had shut off, the remains of the Feast had been cleared away. Everything was still up, prepared for the next day, and the day after.

Where the via praetorian split into a cross road, Reyna stayed still.

One road lead to Temple Hill, which was where she had been headed. Michael had texted her to meet him there. They hadn't had the chance to speak lately, and she wondered if he wanted to kiss her again. Or, Gods forbid, wanted to define their relationship. Reyna kind of felt like a shallow teenage boy in some aspects, like relationships. She didn't like defining them, or putting a label on them. Maybe it was part of her pirate related trauma. From what she had seen of men, she didn't like to commit to them.

One road lead back to New Rome, the road she had travelled. Jason was there, probably still awake. She knew he had two pieces of coursework to finish by the next day, plus an angry Percy to deal with. She could picture him at his desk typing away in the blue glow of his laptop. She remembered what he sad about the Ferris Wheel earlier that night and looked back at the dark ride. Cami was back, Reyna had fallen out with Percy, Annabeth was upset. She didn't want to talk to Michael about it. She wanted to talk to Jason.

Behind her, the third road led to Camp Jupiter, where kids would be sleeping in their barracks, preparing for the next day when they would pick up their swords, march onto the training grounds and figure out what to do when they saw a monster. They wouldn't be allowed to be teenagers, like they should be. They would be heroes. That was where Reyna's old throne was, where Aurum and Argentum would pace with her. Where Jason would rule with her. She wondered what her old self would choose. Her best friend or her… boyfriend?

Is that what Michael means to her? How important was he to Reyna?

She felt more like her old self than she had in a while. Her black hair was in a braid, she wore her old Camp T-shirt and jeans. Since she started college, she was focused more on her work and grades and things normal people would worry about. She imagined for a minute that she had her dogs by her side, her dagger at her belt and her praetor cloak over her shoulders. She always made the best decisions when on duty.

After a minute or two of thought, she sent two texts. One of which telling one of the boys' good night, and the other, telling on of the boys to come and meet her.

When Jason ran up to her, she was sat on a boulder at the crossroads, her jacket wrapped tightly around her shoulder in the cold night and she was wishing she bought a coat. "Hey," he said, coming to a stop in front of her. "What's so urgent you called me out here at 2am?" he asked.

She just smiled at him. "We never got a chance to go on the Ferris Wheel," she said.

"Well it's closed now," he shrugged.

"Remember when we were little and you never used to pay attention to the rules?" she asked him. She took his hand, a casual gesture that they had done thousands of times before. She led him over to the edge of the wheel, in the large patch of field near the Little Tiber.

Jason paused, looking kind of confused at the dead Ferris Wheel. He left Reyna to walk a few feet away. One plug later, the lights of the Wheel – and only the wheel, not the rest of the festival – came on. It didn't move, but it was alive.

"Nice touch," Reyna said as he walked back to her.

"Why?" he asked her, wondering why she was determined to be on the top of the Ferris Wheel at 2 o'clock in the morning, instead of just waiting until the next day.

She shrugged. "Why not?" she asked. Then she paused. "When we were praetors, all of our time was dedicated to this camp. Now, we have coursework that makes us want to tear our brains out and drama that could tear our friends from us. But our lives are finally our own. We can't forget to live them."

He nodded after a pause, understanding what she meant without further explanation needed. He looked up at the top cart and sighed. "I wonder how we're going to get to the top…?"

She smirked at him. "Take me away, Superman."

He picked her up and took off, controlling the winds to lift them off the ground. He took a little detour to spiral around the Wheel – he knew how much Reyna like flying – before landing them safely in the top cart.

Both he and Reyna were actually laughing and she looked up at the stars before shrugging. "I've been on the London Eye. This is weak in comparison."

Jason sniggered, but didn't reply. Instead, he waited a minute before leaning forward and kissing her. She didn't push him away or ask what he was doing. She just waited. When he pulled away, she paused before pulling him back in and kissing him.

* * *

 **A/N: I wanted to do something special for Jeyna in this chapter because, over the next few chapters, they have little to no scenes together. The next chapters are pretty Percy-Central, with a LOT of Percabeth and Jercy angst in particular** **. I love angst.**

 **I meant to mention this last chapter, I updated the cover art! Nobody really cares about the cover art, but still. Annabeth seemed too zoomed out and I wanted to change the actress I used for Reyna from Nina Dobrev to Crystal Reed. I saw I picture of Crystal playing something in Teen Wolf, and she had this plait and was holding this knife and I was just like 'That is Reyna. Right there, that is her'.** **Also, I'm making a new Tumblr blog dedicated to PJO/HOO. My personal one, I tried to include updates and stuff for my fanfictions, but I never really kept up to date with it, so I'm making this side blog. It's called: butjeyna . tumblr . com -so you can search for it now if you like, but it's still in the making.**

 **It's hard to find opportunities for them to use their demigod powers whilst in New Rome (and there's no monsters) unless it's for fluffy things (like flying to the top of Ferris Wheels) but I do have a lot of scenes planned that don't take place in New Rome and I'm going to use those to my advantage in the supernatural essence.**

 **Prepare for a lot of angst over the next few chapters, and, as always, please review!** **-Izzy**


	17. Chapter 17

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:** _Brotherly Battles_

Sometimes Percy didn't like being Percy. Like that one time he turned sixteen, an age where you usually worried about exams and school, but Percy was forced to worry about the apocalypse. And that other apocalypse, when he was afraid Gaia would spill his and Annabeth's blood over some rock and take over the world.

Oh, and that one time he fell into Tartarus with the love of his life. Yeah, that hadn't been a picnic.

And whilst that certain, rainy Tuesday in early February was not nearly the worst day of his life, he still hated it. That was one of the days he had to spend with Camille.

When he had agreed to watch her, as often as he could, to assure himself and his friends that she was up to nothing but good, he did not imagine them walking through New Rome with muffins and coffee. No, he was not having fun.

She never shut up. She ranted on and on and on about her favourite passages in the Bible until she pretty much named every one. He wondered when she had time to read it. Anyway, he stayed silent throughout the whol 'conversation' and tried to look happy when she turned to him.

She knew she was being baby sat. She knew why he was watching her. And she seemed surprisingly okay with that. Finally, she sighed and turned to him. "If you had a million dollars, what would you spend it on and why?"

"What?" he asked, confused by the sudden change of topic.

She just shrugged. "I figured if you're going to babysit me for a while, we might as well pretend to be friends," she said. "So I did some research on how to make friends, because I've never actually done that before. One of the rules was start a conversation so I looked up some conversation starters."

"Oh," he said. "Um, I'd give it to charity, I guess. Because I don't need it?"

"Good answer," she said, nodding approvingly. "I would do exactly the same. There's a special place in Hell for people who don't help other people."

He didn't reply immediately. Neither did she and they were silent for a minute. "Why did Star Wars episodes 4, 5 and 6 come before 1, 2 and 3?" he asked.

She looked confused for a second before she realized it was a joke. "Why?"

"Because in charge of scheduling, Yoda was," Percy said. Camille laughed. He shrugged. "When I was ten I decided I wanted to be funny so my Mom bought me a book of jokes. They were terrible, but they came in handy when making friends."

She smiled at him and he actually smiled back. After that they had a conversation filled with lame conversation starter and jokes, including some about food, which lead to a whole other conversation.

"It's impossible!" Camille said. "I'm telling you, Percy, it's completely impossible!"

"Blue food is not impossible!" he exclaimed. "Look, my sixteenth birthday cake is blue, I make an effort to ensure that most food I eat is blue-"

"Fake," she interrupted. "Fake blue!"

"It's still blue!" he said. "It's still food. It's still delicious."

She just laughed and for a second Percy forgot all of the horrible things she did. It was only when he saw Jason across the street that he suddenly felt guilty. "Wait here," he said, holding up his finger and crossing the road to face Jason. "Hey," he said.

"So, you're friends with Camille now?" he asked. Well it was more of a statement than a question but Percy decided to look at it like a question.

"No," he said, immediately. "No, of course not. I convinced Hazel to let me take part in Cami's babysitting routine. I'm watching her to make sure she's not up to anything."

"You're not watching her," Jason said, crossing his arms and looking at Percy in an almost scolding way. "You're spending the day with her! Making sure she isn't scheming does not include muffins and coffee!"

"Well I'm not going to bully her as we walk," he said, beginning to get defensive.

Jason rolled his eyes. "You know what this looks like, right?" he asked. "First you bring her home, then you spend days out with her- "

"Jason," Percy interrupted him. He crossed his arms as well and looked angry. "Let's get a few things straight. Hazel wanted to bring Camille home, and I argued against her. It was Hazel's word! And I am not going to treat Camille like dirt when she's looking for a second chance!"

Jason narrowed his eyes. "As an ex-praetor- "

"I was a praetor too," Percy said. "So don't say you have a certain insight that I don't."

Jason paused before stepping closer. "You were a praetor for a couple days," Jason said. "Days in which you would have been new, and Reyna would've done most of the work. I lead this camp through a war. So as an ex-praetor with experience, I understand Hazel. She insisted Camille should come home because it is her job to think that way. It is her job to see the Left Brained side of this." He rubbed his temples before pointing at Percy. "When she offered you a choice, that was her way of begging for an Option 2."

"An Option 2?" Percy asked.

"A reason for her to not bring Camille home!" Jason explained. "Without your opinion, she would have had to bring Camille now. She was counting on you bringing another option to the table! For Jupiter's sake, Percy, why do you think Nico sent you there in the first place? Because Hazel was backed into a corner and you were her way out."

Percy paused this time, finally understanding what Jason was saying. "Oh," he paused. "Why would Nico send me? Reyna, Annabeth, even you, you're all more likely to deprive Camille of a second chance than I am!"

"Probably because you're the one who's least likely to try and kill her!" Jason said.

"Other than you!" Percy exclaimed. "You're calm like, 24/7!" Jason paused, using his hands to stretch his face, as if he was tired. He probably was, what with all the mountains of coursework that came with ever subject. "Look," Percy sighed. He remembered that Jason was the one Annabeth called from the hotel room, Jason was the one who heard her broken and defeated, Jason was the one who plotted against Camille with Reyna. Jason probably did hate Camille as much as the girls did. "I give second chances," Percy said. "I always have. I always will, that's just what I do. I'm that kind of guy- "

"Well I'm not," Jason said. "I'm more Roman than that. Reyna's not, as well. Neither is Annabeth, okay? You may be a second chance kind of guy, but the rest of us are _not_! We don't give second chances, and in our eyes, Camille is still an enemy. A threat. An intelligent, cunning one at that. She manipulated us before, and you were the one who bought her home. And whilst we all know you didn't mean for it to be… in us, it feels like a betrayal."

Percy didn't reply for a long time. His friends all felt like he had betrayed them. They all know he didn't mean to, but that's what it felt like. He tried to put himself in their shoes, adopt the personality traits they all shared. He wondered if they had a hard time trying to see through his eyes. Were they even trying to see through his eyes? See the situation from his point of view?

It wasn't until Jason turned away that he spoke. Jason was walking away, running his hand through his hair when Percy stopped him. "How did you know what Hazel was thinking?" he called out, somewhat solemnly.

Jason turned back and shrugged. "When you're a praetor for a certain amount of time, it grows on you until you are the job. It always ends the same. We think the same way; we all turn out the same. Hazel and I are the same. And it's what I would have been thinking."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Reyna tried her hardest to strut. She really did.

She walked through the hallways of the dorm rooms, feeling weaker than she's felt in a long time. Skinny jeans, a tank top, ankle boots, her usual plait. She wished, more than ever for her purple cloak, her golden armour and her dogs at her side, her dagger at her belt.

She felt small. She stopped walking when she reached the door of Michael's dorm room and raised her hand to knock. It had been a month and she could still feel Jason's lips on hers his hand on her cheek. She should have spoken to Michael sooner. Instead, she did everything she could to avoid him.

Because they had been dating. They had. Not officially, but it had gone as far as dating went. And yet, she had kissed somebody else. She had spent that last few weeks convincing herself that it was okay, her and Michael weren't official. But She had still kept it from him. And she had still been avoiding Jason.

She took a deep breath before knocking on the door, three quiet knocks. 16 seconds. That's how long it took for the door to open. 5 lines of the song that was playing inside. Madonna's GhostTown, Reyna recognised. She smirked. She had shown Michael that song.

"Reyna," Michael grinned when he saw her. "Are you done avoiding me?" She swallowed, nodding. "Good," he said, moving a curly strand of hair from her face and kissing her. She didn't return the kiss, but she didn't push away. She wondered if it would be their last.

"Michael… we need to talk," she said. Then she realised what she said and began trying to take it back, but Michael spoke over her.

"Come on in," he said stepping out of the way so she could walk inside. "Now, I'm no praetor, so I don't have servants. So if you see anyone here besides me, call for help."

She smirked, standing near the kitchen. "I didn't mean to," she started, "say 'we need to talk'. I know that's pretty lame."

"I'm a writer, remember?" he said. "Nobody actually says 'we need to talk' when something's wrong. That's way to cliché." She didn't respond. He must have read her facial expressions, because he quickly changed the subject. "Do you want anything? Some coffee-"

"No thank you," she said. "Look, these past few months have been really, _really_ great. And you're amazing and so smart… And I'm terrible at this."

"Terrible?" he asked, seeming confused. "Reyna, you're incredible."

She didn't reply at first. She took a deep breath, looking anywhere but his eyes. "Michael, you're really one of the good ones, okay? And so many people are going to love you."

"Reyna," he said, quietly. She finally looked in his eyes when he said her name and she gulped. Her dark eyes were glistening and she looked vulnerable. Just the side effect of hurting someone you were beginning to fall in love with. "I know we're too young to be talking about forever, but that's what it feels like when I'm with you- "

"Michael," she interrupted. "I'm trying to break up with you."

He nodded, looking understanding. He had closed the door and turned to her, facing her directly. His voice was quiet and soft, but he didn't seem upset in anyway. He seemed caring, understanding, as though Reyna was just upset. "I know. And that's okay, Reyna. Because I'll wait."

She shook her head, running a hand through her hair. "No. No, I can't ask you to wait for me."

Once again, he said her name. Once again, it made her feel terrible.

"No," she interrupted. "No, I won't have you wait for me, Michael! I know what that feels like. I won't put you through that, okay?"

There was another long pause and Reyna's mind began to scream. She started to shout at herself in her head, for hurting this innocent, sweet man. All he did was good, to her, to others. And she was hurting him and her mind was beginning to ask like a storm. A whirlwind of different reasons why she was in the wrong.

"That's why," he said, slowly and softly. "Because I actually like it when you interrupt me. Which is often, by the way." She looked up at him as he stepped closer to her. "I will wait for you because I love you. Because you make no apologies for being who you are." He took another step closer to her and she cross her arms and looked elsewhere, fighting the urge to step back. "Because you're beautiful. Smart. Sexy as Hell."

She sniggered. "Now you're embarrassing me," she muttered, still not meeting his eyes.

"That's another reason," he said. "Because you're completely unaware of your effect on me. So I will wait."

She shook her head. "I'm not coming back," she said. "When you're in a relationship and… someone else is in the picture, I think the relationship needs to end."

"This is about Jason's crush on you?" Michael asked, shocked. "This isn't a love triangle, Reyna. This is a healthy, happy relationship that we chose for ourselves. He doesn't have a place here, he's not in the picture!"

"Do you really think Jason has that much power over me?" she asked. "No, this isn't about his crush on me. This is… this is about my crush on him."

There was a pause. A long one. Sixty seconds at least. Michael sat down in one of the chairs in his kitchen and his eyes flitted away from Reyna's. He stopped looking her in the eye by she didn't stop staring at him.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, after a long while.

"Okay," he said.

Another pause. "I feel awful, Michael."

He nodded. "Okay."

"Michael, please say something other than 'okay'," she begged.

He paused, looking up at her, finally. She saw tears in his eyes, but she was more drawn to the tense jaw. He was clenching his teeth – a sign of anger. Okay, he had a right to be angry. Everybody had a right to feel whatever they wanted.

"So I'm the third wheel?" he said.

She quickly shook her head. "No, it's not like that, I swear! Honestly, I felt like I was falling in love with you-"

"But now," he interrupted, speaking very slowly. "Now, you're just switching boys. Breaking hearts like they meant nothing."

She paused, her mouth open as she looked at him. "No," she said again. "I'm not switching anything! I'm not even dating Jason and your heart always meant something."

He nodded. "I guess you say that to all your suitors," he said. He gestured to the door of his dorm and sighed. "I think you should leave."

She nodded. "Yeah, I think I should too." She stepped outside and slammed the door behind her.

* * *

 **A/N: So I copied and pasted this from word document before realising there was half a sentence missing at the end. I think that's the only one, but if part of a sentence seems to be missing, sorry.**

 **These next three chapters are particularly Percabeth-y, but then, for their third year of college, Jeyna is big. Like, they're one of the themes I focus most on for that year. Very big plans. VERY VERY HAPPY ABOUT REVIEWS! I got so many last chapter and I loved them all, thank you for leaving them, even if I don't reply to you personally, I am so grateful.**

 **Asteria daughter of Koios -It only gets worse, but you made a very good point so I tried to write that point into the Jercy argument! Ily**

 **Sorry this chapter was a little short. I had to cut out a scene because I changed a few storylines I had planned. Please review! -Izzy**


	18. Chapter 18

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:** _Deals and Dates_

Jason and Annabeth were finding themselves sitting together a lot more often. Annabeth was avoiding Percy and Reyna was avoiding Jason, so they sought of fell together. At first they tried to find things to talk about, helping eatchother get their minds off of their 'better halves', but after covering every topic from the weather, local sports games (sparring tournaments and chariot races), their good health, death, college work, laundry and the twelve types of tobacco ash, they fell onto the subjects of Percy and Reyna.

"I feel like we're not just fighting about Camille anymore," Annabeth grumbled, sitting cross-legged on her bed a text book sat, completely discarded next to her. "We're fighting about everything. And maybe I'm just finding reasons to fight with him where there are none but I don't mean to be! Am I being a bitch?"

"No," Jason said, instantly. He was sat on the floor, leaning against the wall. "No, of course not. I mean, you and Percy are going to get through it. Obviously you are. Have you two ever actually fought before? Like, a real fight, not just a… married-couple bicker."

Annabeth paused for a minute, thinking. She thought over all of their previous fight before shaking her head. "Nothing like this. I mean, obviously we're not even thinking about ending it. We went to Hell and back. Percy and I are in love; I'm not going to let that bitch get in the way of that."

"You shouldn't," Jason agreed.

"And I've tried, Gods of Olympus know I've tried, to see it from his perspective," she said. "He's kind and he forgive easily, so I can't blame him for wanted to give Camille a second chance. The two of them never even had a conversation before he found her in that stupid camp. But then I remember that I am seeing the whole situation through my perspective, and through my perspective, Percy's being manipulated!"

"Have you told him you think that?" Jason asked.

"Yes," she exclaimed. "I've told him and told him that I think that, that he's being used. But he won't even entertain the possibility. He honestly thinks Cami's a new person all together, that she's changed, and he won't think otherwise."

Jason sighed. "That level of evil doesn't just disappear," he said. There was a pause as neither of them knew what to say next.

"Anyway," Annabeth sighed. "Grumpy Percy rant over. What's up with you and Reyna?"

It wasn't exactly uncommon knowledge that guys didn't often talk about their feelings. They didn't sit down with each other and talk about their issues. It was probably the media or something. If guys had feelings, they were seen as not masculine enough. And for some reason, a lot of guys were afraid of not being masculine. Anyway, Percy and Jason often made a game to try and avoid that stereotype. They felt comfortable enough to occasionally talk about their feelings, even though they preferred insulting each other. Feelings was easier to talk about with Annabeth.

"I don't know," he sighed, leaning his head back and shrugging. "I mean, we kissed at the top of a Ferris Wheel and it was awesome and now she's been MIA for weeks. And I get that she has a thing with Michael, and she doesn't want to jeopardize that, but that's the exact same thing I did with Piper, and look where that got us last time."

"Jeopardize her thing with Michael?" Annabeth scoffed. "They broke up like, a week ago."

Jason paused, looking up at Annabeth with slightly wide eyes. "They what?"

"Yeah," Annabeth said, nodding. "Reyna and I were talking about it last night. She said she cared about him and it would have been too unfair to keep seeing him when she had feelings for someone else."

"She has feelings for me?" Jason asked.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. That was hardly surprising. "Well duh! I'm not actually supposed to be telling you any of this, by the way."

"Tell me more," he said.

Annabeth paused, pouting a little. "Okay, I'm not going to tell you exactly what she said, but I am going to tell you what I think. I think she's subconsciously connecting the pain of losing Michael that she feels, and the crush she has on you. Which is why she's avoiding you. But I think that maybe she needs you a little bit."

"Reyna needs me?" he scoffed. "Reyna doesn't need anyone but herself. She never has."

"She's going through a break up," Annabeth said. "She the strongest person I know, but everyone at least _wants_ their best friend during a break up."

"Last time I checked," Jason replied, slouching a little more against the wall, as if he didn't want to get up to talk to Reyna, "you were her best friend. Why don't you go and be there for her?"

"I have," Annabeth said. "Well, I've tried. But I have my own problems at the moment, and whilst I'm always more than happy to put them aside to take care of my friends when they need it, she uses them as an excuse to change the subject."

"Your own problems," Jason repeated. "How about we make a deal? I'll go and talk to Reyna and figure out where we go from here. But only if you talk to Percy and try to figure out how to make up."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow, mulling over his offer like she was reading a contract. "Fine," she said. "Deal. Message me tonight to tell me how it goes."

-0-0-0-0-0-

He knew Reyna too well. He paused, wondering how well was too well. He shook the idea off as he walked into the college's canteen, knowing where Reyna would be instantly. It wasn't she ate her feelings or something – she didn't. It was because of the podium.

The canteen had two levels. The main floor, with the food and the majority of the tables. And then a slightly quieter podium, only two steps up where people usually sat to study. There was this one seat, higher than all of the others in the canteen, that was to one side of the podium. It had a perfect view of the room, looking over the whole canteen like a kingdom.

Reyna didn't often sit there, but when she was upset she always did things that made her feel like herself. Braid her hair, walk her dogs, walk through New Rome with a hot chocolate, call Hylla. It was a coping method she used. She was strong, stronger than anyone he knew, and she liked reminding herself of that when she was upset. She liked to remind herself that she was strong enough to get through it.

So of course a podium would appeal to her, a seat that allowed her to look over the room full of people like they were her people. Her kingdom.

It might have been a tiny act, but it was just one of the little things that made her feel better. And sure enough, she was at there as Jason walked in. Headphones in and a book out in front of her. He had always wondered how she was able to listen to music and read at the same time. "Hey Rey," he said, sitting down next to her.

She looked up at him, probably because she saw him, not heard him. She looked shocked for a second before she pulled out her headphones and set her pen down. "What is it?" she asked, politely. Not as friendly as usual, but polite nonetheless.

"I heard about you and Michael," he said, trying to sound comforting. Honestly, he was sorry that she had lost him. "Annabeth told me."

"Yeah, well Annabeth has a big mouth," Reyna replied, absent-mindedly as she turned away from him.

There was a short pause. "I'm sorry," he said, somewhat sadly. She just scoffed. "No, seriously," he said. "Reyna! I'm really sorry."

She sighed before forcing a smile. "Well thank you for your concern," she said, turning to him. "But I'm okay."

He's thought it once; he'll think it again. He knew her too well. He knew that she rarely smiled, but when she did, her eyes glistened, her cheeks smiled with her and she usually showed teeth. So he knew when she was lying about her smile. "You don't have to pretend with me," he promised, looking right through her.

"Who said I'm pretending?" she asked, crossing her arms as she faced him. She looked like she was accepting a challenge. "It takes more than boys to bring me down. I can handle myself."

"You're allowed to be upset," he said. "You just broke up with Michael. The Gods don't know how much I mourned my past relationship. Trust me, I know what it feels like."

She stared at him for a second before looking down, her face falling along the way. She knew she couldn't lie to him. There wasn't a point, he would get the truth out eventually. "It would be easier if he didn't despise me," she said. "But he does…" She trailed off for a minute. When she looked in, she took a deep breath, calming her emotions before her eyes could even think about crying. "All I have are these worries and this guilt, and this wrecking sadness and…"

"And me," he said after she paused. She turned back to him when he said that. "You have me."

She gave the tiniest of sad smiles. "That's the Jason I knew. Always looking out for me."

He sniggered, thinking of all of the times they talked, gave each other advice, saved each other's lives. He remembered one time, when they were fourteen, she had been kidnapped by the Titan Mnemosyne, who tried to use her as leverage over Camp Jupiter. It was probably the only time he really came to her aid, instead of her saving him. And even then, she did most of the work getting them out.

But other than that, he did save her. Time and time again. When she overworked herself with praetor duties, he'd make sure she got enough sleep. When she planned feasts and events, he made sure she remembered to eat and rest.

"Well you don't exactly make it very easy on me," he said.

This time she grinned. A real, genuine smile. "Then why do you do it?" she asked.

He shrugged. "You're always there for me," he answered, looking at her as though it should be obvious. "So let me be there for you."

She paused for a minute. "Look, I'm a little confused about everything at the moment. I don't understand it. You… us…" there was another pause. "Can you just, give me some time to try and figure it out?"

He nodded softly.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Annabeth's favourite part of New Rome usually uninhabited. It was a little astray from the main campus and was a large park with bright green grass and a light path. There was a small castle like building that was used for religious peace. It was part Mosque, Synagogue, Church and more. A lot of people said it would be better to have them all as separate buildings, but the majority of religious demigods liked it.

They liked the unity of beliefs, the fact that they could share their faiths. It only made the building more peaceful and happy. And the architectural designs of the pillars and the statues outside, pretty much killed Annabeth. But it wasn't the building she liked the most. It was the park. Where people walked their dogs, and played with their kids. Where people could come and unwind.

Down a small hill there was this miniature maze made of mirrors. It was a sought of challenge, to see if anyone could make it out without getting lost. Nobody could. It was a fun little monument that always made Annabeth smile when she saw kids running around in it. It reminded her of the future Percy had suggested in this great city and that just made her feel even happier.

It was about five minutes before Percy arrived. He walked quickly towards her and without a word they embraced, holding onto each other peacefully, even if just for a minute. Like a bow before a battle. "Hey," Annabeth sighed.

"Hi," he said, forcing a smile as they pulled apart.

"We need to talk," she said. It was a line so commonly used for break ups, but for them, she used it to begin the conversation in which they tried to fix their problems. "This is getting ridiculous."

He nodded. "I agree."

There were a few steps at the end of the path, that were also meant to be monumental. Nobody could walk down them normally due to the shape and height and width, and nobody could actually count have many there were. They lead to a small courtyard with a few lecture halls in, a little away from the main campus. They sat on the steps next to each other and paused.

"Percy I wouldn't lie about this," Annabeth started, wrapping her arms around her legs. "I really think you're being manipulated. Deceived, whatever. Cami is lying to you and I just don't want you to get hurt."

Percy paused, listening to her before nodding. "I like to believe that people can change. Even if she hasn't yet-"

"I don't think she deserves a second chance," Annabeth said, shaking her head. "Not in my life. In others, sure. But not in mine."

"I'm not asking her to be a part of your life," Percy insisted. "I'm just-"

"You're a part of my life," Annabeth interrupted. "If you become her friend, that gives her a chance to wriggle her way back into my life and try to destroy it again."

He paused again, looking down. He played with the tassels of his hoodie. It was the second time she interrupted him, which was great, because he had only said two things so far. Was she even going to let him talk? "We need to talk," he mused, repeating the words she said. "What's the point in talking if you don't even respect what I have to say?" he spat.

"Excuse me?" she said, quite shocked. "Look me in the eye and say that to me." He didn't. "You only talk to her anyway because you pity her. She doesn't need your pity."

"It sounds a lot like you're jealous," he said, looking up at her then, a look of determination on his face and Annabeth almost laughed. He needed to be brave to say that to her.

"Do _not_ ," she growled menacingly, "try to turn this into something it's not."

"So this isn't up for discussion?" he asked, crossing his arms as he looked at her. "Is that what you're saying?"

She scowled at him. "I'm saying that I'm not jealous," she said. "I have no problem with you having female friends, okay? Just not her! Look if you're going to dodge the problem and try to pin it on me, then what are you even doing here?"

"What am I doing here?" he asked, sniggering. "I'm here for me, Annabeth. You're in pain. Which means that I'm in pain. I want to fix this so I'm not in pain anymore!"

She shook her head and opened her mouth to speak when a group of students passed by. Annabeth didn't particularly feel like sharing her drama with them so she was silent until they left. By that time, she had forgotten what she wanted to say. Her head fell in her hand and she rubbed her temples, developing a headache.

"Look," Percy said, a lot softer than before. "I want you to trust me. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. Or me. We're going to be fine."

Annabeth just paused before looking up at him. "Trust is earned," she said.

"And I haven't earned it?" Percy asked. "We've been dating for years! We went to Hell and back together!"

"Well you don't trust me enough to believe me when I say that Camille is manipulating you," she fired. "So I guess that makes you a hypocrite."

"No, that makes _you_ paranoid," he returned.

She didn't retaliate. She just kept massaging her headache. "This wasn't supposed to be an argument," she sighed. "It's the people, they're making me cranky." She looked around at everyone near them, every Roman civilian. It wasn't exactly a private conversation they were having.

He nodded. "It's making us both a little cranky," he said. "We need to talk about this, but alone. With less people around, where we can't be walked in on."

"Meet me here tomorrow," she said. "Night. Midnight, when nobody's around and the stars will be pretty and calming."

"Okay," he agreed. "It's a date."

* * *

 **A/N: I know, I said no Jeyna for a while but I changed the settings of a few scenes and fit one in. But literally, nothing for a little while after this. Also the religious building thingy is based off a real place. I think it's in Denmark but I'm not sure. I've heard a lot of mixed reviews about it but I found it a very interesting topic so I just threw it in.**

 **I genuinely wanted to edit this chapter but then I kind of laughed to myself and thought 'I'm never going to do that.' I'm too tired. And lazy. Yeah. I actually quite like this chapter anyway, which is unusual for me, because I'm always so critical over my own work.**

 **Let me know what you think! I love hearing from you guys so please review! -Izzy**


	19. Chapter 19

**CHAPTER NINETEEN:** _The Perfect Storm_

People say that on your death bed, you regret the stuff you didn't do more than the stuff you did. That wasn't exactly true. One of Percy's biggest regrets was being willing enough to do whatever Nico said when he said it. He thought back to the text Nico had given him that one time, telling him to go and see Camille.

If only he had texted back 'no'. If only he had refused to go, or forgotten to go. If only he didn't get that text, or ignored it.

Maybe he would be on a different side of things. Maybe he would be next to Annabeth as she complained about Camille, maybe he would agree with her, nod his head and say 'yes, dear'. Him and Annabeth wouldn't have fought, she would be on his side when everything went to Hell, and their relationship would remain as strong as ever.

For if they hadn't been arguing, there would be no way she didn't trust him.

If they hadn't been arguing, she would have trusted him enough to believe the best of him, even when he said the worst.

Maybe he would have ended up with her in his arms, laughing at the people who tried to tear them apart. Maybe he would have ended up happy. Instead of ending up…

He lay in a dark alleyway, wondering where he was as the word spun around him. There was an empty bottle of beer in his hands and he wondered how many of them he had had. He had never been drunk before. Tipsy, sure, at safe college parties with his friends. But never dangerously drunk. But it wasn't the alchohol that limited his conscience. It was the excruciating, wrecking pain of the gunshot wound in his torso.

…here.

 **3 hours earlier…**

Once again, Percy found himself checking his watch, tapping his foot as he counted down the minutes. He was on Camille Watch, and was supposed to be watching her until she went back to her dorm room. He wasn't allowed to rush her, or suggest it, he had to let her go back on her own. Unfortunately, he was supposed to be meeting Annabeth in 20 minutes and he didn't want to be late.

"This one has a better view of Steven Hawking's theory," Camille mused, holding up a text book that she needed for one of her courses. Some science one she took for fun.

"Then get that one," Percy said. They were on the bottom floor of the library that was about to close at 11:30pm.

She smirked. "I know you want to get back, Percy," Camille said. "Sorry this is taking me so long. I just really enjoy your company. You're the only person who treats me like a person and not like an object."

He sighed a little. "It's fine, don't worry about it," he said.

"No, really," she said, turning fully to him and smiling. "I don't think I've said this before, but I think you should know. Everyone else who watched treat me like an object, they don't like talking to me. But you are kind. So thank you."

He was about to reply when his phone went off in his pocket. Annabeth probably wouldn't even be there yet, so it probably wasn't her asking where he was. He pulled it out and checked the message. A text of a video.

He scrunched up his eyebrows and moved away from Camille to watch it in private. Clicking play, he immediately saw the steps, where he was supposed to be meeting Annabeth. She was already there. Made sense. Maybe she wanted to become peaceful with her surroundings before Percy arrived.

But what unsettled him was that someone was filming her. From some nearby bushes. Was she being stalked?

He watched as Annabeth got a text from her own phone. She stood up and set down her cup of coffee before jogging down the steps to meet someone. The person with the camera came out from the bushes and walked over to her coffee. The dangled a gloved hand over the cup, holding a small satchel of powder above it.

Percy's eyes widened as he continued watching. The video ended before he could see what happened. He checked the number of the person who texted him, but it was unknown to his phone. He tried texting back, but it was a blocked feature. After the video, he got two more texts from the same number:

 _Never leave your drink unattended. -Anon_

And the ever more disturbing...

 _Do whatever Camille wants you to, or Annabeth gets drugged. I wonder what boot camp they'll send her too. -Anon_

Percy turned to Camille, but she was still too invested in reading books to notice anything was wrong. Manipulate. That was the first word to cross his mind. That's what Annabeth suspected. She always said that Camille was manipulating him, and now here was his proof. She must have found some way to get this text to him. Maybe she was working with somebody else.

The next thing to cross his mind was that he had the video. He had proof. He could demand an explanation from Camille and even if Annabeth got drugged, he'd have proof that someone did it to her. That would keep her out of boot camp. As he thought this, he looked down at his phone as it got hacked into. Yes, somebody was now hacking into his phone, deleting the texts and the video.

So, with his proof gone, he only had one choice. Do whatever Camille said and play her games. Or Annabeth got drugged, caught, taken to boot camp and her college education was once again in jeopardy. So what did Camille want?

"Camille," he said, gulping as he put his phone in his pocket.

"I know," she huffed. "I shouldn't have said anything. Was that Annabeth?" She gestured to his pocket with his phone in it and he shook his head.

"No, no it wasn't Annabeth," he replied.

"Are you two still fighting?" Camille asked, putting her books down and turning fully to him. "I really hate being the thing that came between you. I'm really trying to make amends here. I don't want that ruined."

He didn't reply straight away. "I'm supposed to be meeting up with her tonight," he said, honestly. "We're going to talk through this and figure this out."

"Good," Camille said, smiling at him.

"You don't sound like that's good," he said, recognising her frustrated tone.

She shrugged. "I want you to be happy, Percy," Camille said. "Like I said, you're the only person I know who'll give me the time of day. You're looking out for me when I have no one. You're giving me a second chance when no one else will. You're a good person, and you deserve whatever you want out of life."

"And what do you want?" Percy asked. If she wasn't going to tell him he would have to get it out of her.

"Are you asking because you want to know?" she asked, crossing her arms at him. "Or because you feel obligated to ask?"

Obligation, definitely. But, if he was going to play her game, he would have to do it right. "I'm asking," he said, "because you deserve it."

There was a short pause before she leaned forward and wrapped her hands around his neck, bringing him forward and kissing him. His lips clenched but he didn't stop her. _Do what she wants, play her games_ , a voice in his mind said. He put his hands on her hips but didn't kiss back. Everything about it felt wrong and disgusting and he hated it so much. But in the face of blackmail, what else was he to do?

-0-0-0-0-0-

Annabeth paced the steps where she was supposed to be meeting Percy. He still had almost half an hour before he was supposed to get there, but she was so afraid of not being punctual that she had shown up early. She tapped her foot as she sipped her coffee, using the cup to keep her hands warm in the cold night air.

It was dark and nobody was around. She couldn't wait until Percy got there, so they could put this whole fight to rest. But also, she didn't feel comfortable being alone out there. There wasn't exactly a problem. It just felt like she was being watched. Eyes were on her. Eyes in the dark, but no matter how much she looked around, she couldn't see anyone.

She mused on this thought for a minute before her phone went off in her pocket. She set her cup of coffee down and read the new text message from Reyna. _SOS. Meet me at the broken arch ASAP? -R_

The broken arch was next to the lecture halls at the bottom of the steps. It was simply a small arch that lead back to the main college campus, but during the war with the giants it had been damaged. It could have been rebuilt, but the only way to do so was to use bricks that didn't match. And everyone agreed it looked a little bit better ragged.

Reyna rarely ever sent an 'SOS' and Annabeth assumed it was for the worst. She started jogging down the steps immediately and ran threw the courtyard to the arch. But it seemed abandoned. She waiting for about ten minutes, figuring Reyna was somewhere else when she sent the text, but after a while, she texted Reyna back, asking where she was. There was no reply.

Instantly Annabeth began to worry. Had something happened to her? Was she attacked? What was the SOS for? She texted Jason, asking if he knew where Reyna was and if she was alright.

 _Just checked on her. She's sleeping. She's fine. Why? -J_

Annabeth sighed and told him not to worry about it. Reyna was safe. So what was the text for? Had she sent it and then fallen asleep? She rolled her eyes and decided to ask her in the morning. Percy was due to arrive in ten minutes. She jogged back through the courtyard and up the stairs, picking up her abandoned coffee and drinking it as she sat down.

It wasn't long before she got another text. This time in the form of a video with no caller ID. She raised an eyebrow and clicked play. Then she gasped. The video was of Percy and Camille, in the middle of some bookshelves in the college library. Camille pulled Percy forward and kissed him and Annabeth waited, watching until he pushed her away, told her he had a girlfriend. But he didn't.

It took her a moment to register what was happening. She replayed the video time and time again, making sure it was definitely Percy. Percy who didn't push her away. Maybe he was trying to be polite, but even after the kiss ended, he didn't say anything about having a girlfriend. Her eyes began to glisten and she choked slightly. No. That simply couldn't be happening.

Percy fell into Hell because he didn't want to lose her. Percy turned away from being a God because he wanted to be with her. They were in love, Percy loved her and she loved him. Camille was pretty, but she wasn't pretty enough to change that.

Annabeth tried to take a deep breath but it sounded more like hyperventilation. She continued to watch the short video again and again until she had memorized every move they made. Most people would have turned away, but Annabeth was so disbelieving that she needed to see it.

She remembered the day before when Percy had suggested she was jealous. Maybe he had been hinting at something.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"What the Hell?" Camille demanding, storming into his dorm room like she owned it. She looked at the boy sat on the kitchen counter, who simply smirked at her as he stood up and faced her.

"What?" he asked. "It's going like clockwork."

"Not for me, you ass," Camille said. "I told you, I made it very clear that I wanted to be left out of it. You may want to hurt Percy, Annabeth, Reyna and Jason, but you promised me you would leave me out of it. When you asked for my aid, I said no, because I am trying to make up for my sins."

"Oh you and your bloody sins," he said, running a hand through his hair. "Look, you wanted revenge on Annabeth. This is how you get it. And don't give me that bullshit about your sins. You just don't want Percy to get hurt. Because that kiss was all you."

Camille paused, her nostrils flaring. "How did you know I was going to kiss him?" Camille asked.

"You're easy to read," he answered, leaning against the kitchen counter. "I simply used your crush on Percy to do my bidding."

Camille didn't answer straight away. She paced back and forth, thinking of all of the ways this was going to bite her. Annabeth would kill her, destroy her before she could redeem herself. Everything she had worked for will be gone. She leaned on the table and paused. "Why do you have two phones?" she asked the boy.

"One of them is Reyna's," he replied. "It was necessary."

"I doubt that."

* * *

 **A/N: I wasn't planning on updating so early but this just sort of happened.**

 **So, you may have noticed before I've mentioned chapter plans and ideas for plots. This one kept getting cut but somehow kept getting worked back in. It's a very angst-filled plot and I was going to cut it. But then I just decided that I'm just going to do it. Go for it because why not? I mean, if Percabeth stayed the same, perfect couple throughout the whole fic it would get a little boring so, you know.**

 **Now, the beginning scene of this chapter is set 2 and a half hours after the ending of this chapter, and next chapter will explain how we get there. So next chapter pretty much picks up where this one ends.**

 **I warned you. I told you there would be angst and drama and goodness. Don't say I didn't warn you, because I did. Hm. I'm going to Hell.**

 **Asteria Daughter of Koios: THAT DOESN'T MAKE YOU A TERRIBLE PERSON! I love you you're so sweet! That just makes me a very, very evil person. But you know what? I think I'm okay with that!**

 **Please review. I mean, I don't deserve it, as I'm an evil, OTP destroying monster, but review anyway. -Izzy**


	20. Chapter 20

**CHAPTER TWENTY:** _Till Death Do Us Part…_

Annabeth didn't call Jason and Reyna. They just showed up. Jason was still wearing jeans and a t-shirt, but Reyna was in pyjama pants and an over-sized Camp Jupiter shirt, that Annabeth was pretty sure belonged to Jason. Her hair was down and she was hurriedly wrapping a jacket around herself as they jogged up to Annabeth.

"What's going on?" Jason asked, coming to a halt in front of her.

"What are you guys doing here?" Annabeth sniffed, crossing her arms over her chest and trying to look brave.

It had started to rain. A slight drizzle at first, that she had barely noticed. But now her hair was getting damp and it was hard to ignore.

"Well," Jason mused. "You texted me in the middle of the night, frantically wondering if Reyna is okay and where she is. Then you don't give me an explanation or… Annabeth, what's wrong?"

Annabeth closed down the video on her own phone before choking back another round of tears. "I got a text from Reyna saying SOS. You didn't send it?" Reyna shook her head, looking worried. Annabeth just shrugged. "I think someone has your phone. And um, used it to distract me…"

"Annabeth," Reyna said softly, taking a step forward and putting a hand on Annabeth's shoulder. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Annabeth wanted to say something but she let out a small sob instead, the first tear of the night dripping down her cheek as she leaned into Reyna. Reyna just wrapped her arms around Annabeth and comforted her as Jason looked around, scouting the area for danger as he wondered what had happened.

When they broke apart, Annabeth held her phone out to Reyna and Jason. Jason took it and played the video, Reyna watching from over his shoulder. "Oh my Gods," Reyna whispered.

"Annabeth, I'm so sorry," Jason said after a long pause.

She managed a deep breath and wiped the tear from her cheek. "My face is wet," she murmured to herself, as if in a slight daze. "I don't know what I'm going to do," she said, looking back up at her friends. "I mean; this is Camille we're talking about. I don't know how much of this is the truth. Percy wouldn't do this…"

Reyna wrapped her arm around her and Annabeth leaned on her shoulder for a minute. The rain picked up with every minute, getting heavier and heavier.

-0-0-0-0-0-

 _Now make it believable to protect Annabeth -Anon_

Percy had just read this message for the billionth time by the time his phone got hacked into – again – and the message was deleted. He could always tell Annabeth the truth, but if this person could hack into his phone, a person who was willing to drug his girlfriend, he was not too happy about messing with them.

It was best to just do what they said. Annabeth would be safe, at least. Even if they bought in the authorities, Camille was smart enough to trick them last year. And something told Percy that 'anon' was much more dangerous than Camille.

So when he walked the pathway to the steps, he rehearsed everything he should say in his head. He was supposed to break up with her. That's what he would do if the kiss was real. He would leave her, so she could find someone better, and that's what 'anon' wanted him to do now.

He wasn't expecting to see Jason and Reyna on the steps, but he didn't tell them to leave, or even look at them. His eyes were fixed on Annabeth, who's eyes were watery and red. She turned to him as he walked over to them.

It was… crazy. He could still feel it in his pocket, the little gift he bought for her. He had planned on meeting her here and giving her the little present he found. There was no way he could give it to her now.

"Annabeth," he whispered. "I'm assuming you already know?"

It was pouring rain. Their hair was all soaked and stuck to their necks. It was hard to tell what was rain and what was tears.

She held out her phone, showing him a video. One of what happened that night. "Tell me this isn't true," she choked. "Tell me that there's more to this story! Tell me that what I saw in this video wasn't real. That there's something I don't know."

 _Make it believable_. "I can't," he sobbed after a pause. _Make it believable_. "It's real, Annabeth." _Make it believable_. "Camille and I… have been growing close lately." _Make it believable_. "She really has changed." _Make it believable to protect Annabeth_.

"You're kidding," she breathed, gawking at him. "You're actually kidding, Percy. I don't believe you. I know you. You wouldn't do this! This has to be some part of her game, some manipulation-"

"Stop with the manipulation, Annabeth!" he exclaimed. "She isn't manipulating me!"

Jason had to physically stop Reyna from punching Percy by that point. Annabeth ignored them and focused on Percy. "After everything we've been through… you wouldn't do this to me."

"You were my first love," Percy nodded. The words 'make it believable' rattling around in his mind. "I did love you. And we did go through a lot. But hardly any teen romances survive." Annabeth's breathing was crooked and shaky as Percy continued. "I was going to tell you. I didn't want it to be like this. But I did love you."

"If you loved me you wouldn't have done this," Annabeth snapped, tears dripping down her face.

Percy's own eyes began to water, but he doubted it would be believable if he cried. He so much wanted to tell her it was a lie, that they were being blackmailed. But he didn't want her to face the consequences. He would find 'anon'. He would make them pay. And then he would tell Annabeth the truth, when he no longer thought 'anon' was a threat.

"It was everything we wanted," Percy whispered. "The jokes, the smiles, the kisses, the story. Our love story. Annabeth, it still felt… amazing. The way we would plan our future, talk about marriage and kids. But it was a future we never could have. Because we just weren't meant to be. I loved you. But one day, I started talking to someone else and it just… ended."

Annabeth turned away from him as she let out a sob. "How long?"

He shrugged, pathetically. "A month. Maybe two. I wanted to tell you. If I followed my own advice, I would have walked away from you a long time ago… I just couldn't."

There was a long pause. Reyna called out something that sounded like 'coward' but Percy wasn't listening to her. Jason was looking at Percy, a simple look of disappointment on his face. Percy couldn't keep looking at him for more than a second. Annabeth seemed to be trying to look anywhere but Percy. Her lips were pressed together and she was forcing her eyes to stay open so she didn't blink out any tears. "You were," she mused, still looking away from him, "supposed to be better than this."

"I was," he said, simply. There was another, really long pause. "Look, Cam-"

" _DON'T_!" Annabeth exclaimed at the top of her lungs. The anger had kicked in. She glared at him, growling slightly and Percy wouldn't have been surprised if she was seeing red. She screeched the word, but what she said afterwards was dangerously calm. "Don't say her name to me. Or anything else ever again."

"Annabeth-"

She turned on her heel and stormed off, Reyna on her heels. Jason just turned to Percy, who was watching Annabeth go.

It was a while before Percy turned on his heel and walked. Jason ran and stopped him, forcing Percy to face him. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked.

Percy just paused, looking Jason over before shrugging. He guessed he would have to lie to Jason as well as Annabeth. "I was going to," he said, weakly, his voice croaky.

"Why didn't you tell me when it happened?" Jason asked, crossing his arms at Percy.

Percy tried to come up with an excuse, something believable to continue this lie. He was already looking forward to the day he could tell them all the truth, but it didn't seem to be on the horizon. Percy was just glad the rain could conceal the tears on his face.

"I didn't want to handle your judgement," he croaked. "I mean, that sounds selfish because I deserve the worst, but I just couldn't handle it. You make mistakes. You were horrible to Reyna, but you found solutions, you fixed the problem, you saved yourself and your relationship with her. I can't do that. If I told you this sooner, you probably would've found some solution, right?"

"I…" Jason said awkwardly. "I try."

"You succeed." Percy stated, his voice rising a little. He got louder with every sentence. "You were the true praetor of Rome; you always manage to keep your cool. You're Jason Grace, okay?" He was practically yelling by this point. "Some of us _aren't_. Some of us _make mistakes_. Some of us _screw up beyond repair_. Some of us _can't find solutions_. Some of us have to _get are hands a little dirty_. SOME OF US ARE _HUMAN_!"

There was a pause before Percy turned on his heel and walked away from Jason. "Where are you going?" Jason called after him.

"Away from here," Percy said. Jason tried to follow him, but it wasn't long before Percy was lost in the rain.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Reyna sat crossed legged on the bottom bunk – Annabeth's bunk. Annabeth's head was in her lap as she sobbed. They had dried off from the rain and now, Reyna was comforting Annabeth, letting her cry, wrapping her arms around her.

Annabeth looked up at Reyna weakly. "Get me out of here," she choked. "Get me out of New Rome."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Percy wandered aimlessly for a bit before finding himself in an alley way in San Francisco. There was another empty bottle of beer in his hand, and he wondered how many he had had. More than was healthy, that's for sure. He stumbled as he walked, tripping over his feet and slurring his words when he spoke to strangers.

Some upbeat music was playing in a nearby club and people were exchanging 'stuff' all around him. He didn't see someone come up behind him and grab his arms, pulling them behind him and holding him still. Someone else came up in front of him and started searching his pockets.

"There's no need to get rough," Percy slurred, too drunk to fight back, even though he probably could've taken both guys out. "I've got some money; you can have it. It's all good!"

The thief pulled out his wallet, took his money and pocketed it. He found Riptide and threw it to one side, not bothered by the pen.

The thief reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a little black box – the one hiding the gift he had bought for Annabeth, weeks ago. He had been planning on giving it to her that night.

"Hey, hey," Percy stopped him, beginning to sober up at the sight of him. "Come on, be cool. Take me to a bank and I'll get all my money out for you, just… not that."

The man shouted something in Spanish or something, so Percy realised why he didn't understand him. Percy started struggling against the guy behind him, trying to force his arms out of his grip. "I'll give you the money!" he started shouting, trying to talk over the guy. "Just let me keep that!"

Percy jumped forward and managed to kick him down. "Let me keep the box!" he demanded as loud as he could. Before he could even comprehend what was happening, the guys had pulled out a gun and aimed it at Percy. The trigger was pulled and the guy behind Percy – almost the size of Tyson – let him fall to his knees, and then to the ground.

As Percy lost consciousness, the guys looked over the box, opening it up and raising their eyebrows at the silver engagement ring, already making guesses of what it was worth. They ran off, leaving Percy alone, weak, drunk and dying in the dark, wet alleyway.

* * *

 **A/N: Now have a peek at that chapter title and tell me that isn't funny** **. In case you underestimated just how evil I am, this chapter is here to prove that I am the maximum level of evil. At first, I was thinking: I should wait a week or two to add suspense after this chapter, but then I remembered that I have pretty much nothing else to do, so it'll probably come within a few days to a week.**

 **If this was a TV show, this would be the finale. As it is, it is the last chapter set in their second year of college.**

 **I feel like in the reviews you guys are trying to find polite ways of telling me I'm evil and I love it! I love you guys, so please review and let me know what you think. -Izzy**


	21. Chapter 21

**CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE:** _Sel Réunit La Plaie_

As Percy lost consciousness, the guys looked over the box, opening it up and raising their eyebrows at the silver engagement ring, already making guesses of what it was worth. They ran off, leaving Percy alone, weak, drunk and dying in the dark, wet alleyway.

* * *

Two months later…

"Jason," Frank greeted, walking into Jason's dorm room. Jason didn't look up at him as he walked in, he was too busy staring at his laptop looking for some form of information, for an update. An update, which Jason assumed Frank was here for.

"Nothing new," Jason said, still not looking up at Frank. Jason looked bad. He was pale and had bags under his eyes, his hair was greasy and messy, his lips were chapped, he was skinnier than usual. Maybe it had something to do with going the better half of 86 hours without sleep.

"At all?" Frank asked, sitting at the dining table opposite Jason. "No word?"

Jason paused. "Percy was mugged after leaving New Rome," he said. "Some cop got in touch. They managed to recover all of his belongings. I told them to ship it all to Annabeth is France."

"Anything else?" Frank asked.

Jason shrugged. "I have a few new contacts. Oh, that's one of them now…" he said as his phone rang in his pocket. He answered the call and pressed the phone to his ear. "Hello?" Frank watched as Jason listened to the caller. "Oh," he said, quietly. "Thank you. Yes, um… will do. Thanks." He hung up before turning to Frank.

He looked like he was in shock, in a daze and didn't know how to react. "What?" Frank asked. "Jason, what is it?"

"They um, they found some news," Jason said. "A body washed up on the Spanish Coast. Identification shows it's… Percy Jackson."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Maybe going abroad every summer would become their tradition. Reyna and Annabeth had escaped to Paris, this time. Maybe they were running from their problems, but neither of them really cared. Surprisingly, for the first time in a long time, they were having a good time.

Reyna spent her days in Paris trying to forget both Michael Kahale and Jason Grace. Which was easier at the time than expected. She could be a lot friendlier than she first appeared to be and managed to make a lot of new friends. At first, she pushed people away over and over, but after a month or two she opened up, allowed herself to talk with them.

She even collected a few number and cheek kisses, but she never let anything go too serious. She made more friends than anything else. She just allowed herself to open up more, and she was much happier that way. Two months is Paris, and she had become a muse to them all.

Meanwhile, Annabeth ruled the right bank. She skimmed through the shops and consumed the classics, learning more French than she knew Greek. She read novel after novel, tasted delicacy after delicacy, inhaling the culture like a drug. She liked to stay educated and she was spending her summer abroad educating herself.

When she wasn't experiencing new things, she was on her laptop, so obsessively that Reyna began to worry. She often asked what Annabeth was doing, but the blond remained as secretive as ever, tapping away every night and every day.

But even though a summer abroad it one of the best things in the world, it's always better when you have an old friend from home by your side. "The cute waiter gave me his number," Reyna said, smiling as she sat opposite Annabeth at a small table outside one of the very best cafés they had found. She placed a small piece of paper down as the waiter moved away. Reyna's face fell when she noticed Annabeth was on her laptop again.

"Annabeth what are you doing?" she complained. "We said we wouldn't check in with home all vacation."

"Our vacation is ridiculously long," Annabeth said, defensively.

Reyna raised an eyebrow. "So now you're stalking Percy's social media?"

Annabeth looked down and smiled, sipping some of her hot chocolate. "I couldn't care less about him," she said. "I'm not even on his social media… Besides, he's been MIA since our break up. Jason's been calling me non-stop, but I've ignored him."

Reyna sighed. "And what is everyone saying about us?" she asked.

"Well, Catherine from my Environment Course," Annabeth mused, "said something along the lines of: _Ooh la la, Paris is burning and Reyna and Annabeth lit the match._ Of course, your flame is hotter than mine."

"And who's fault is that?" Reyna asked, sarcastically. "Annabeth, just as many guys have hit on you that have hit on me. I'm just courageous enough to take a leap."

"Take a leap away from your problems," Annabeth corrected. "And use cute bartenders to hide from them."

"Details," Reyna rolled her eyes. "The point is: I've been much happier since I started opening up to new people."

"No," Annabeth said. "You're secretly regretting going home because you know that when you do, you'll have to face your feelings for Jason. You know, the reason you broke Michael's heart. And you're happier when you're pretending to have moved on. But we both know, no waiters are going to help you get over Jason."

"We came to France to get over them," Reyna huffed. "At least I'm trying."

Annabeth paused. "You're right. You put me to shame. I'm returning to New Rome with a Percy-shaped cloud over my head. The thing is…" she paused, sighing. "Percy took me to Paris on our second month anniversary. I didn't tell you because I… I love Paris. And I didn't want to move or anything. But also because I've been trying not to say his name, or think about him."

Reyna sighed. "You should have told me." Silence. "Annabeth." The blonde looked up at her friends surprisingly warm eyes. "You'll be fine," Reyna promised.

Annabeth smiled. "I know," she said. "But you're right. I do intend to make at least one new friend in Paris."

"Well if you weren't on his social media all day…" Reyna mused.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I am not on his social media," she said.

"Then what are you doing?" Reyna asked.

Annabeth paused before turning her laptop around to face Reyna. "You remember that apartment we bought near Christmas time?" During their third year of college, dorm room rent would sky rocket, so they needed a cheaper place to stay. That's when most students moved into apartments.

"The rusty, broken thing?" Reyna said. "The nicest place we could afford? Go on…"

"I'm fixing it," Annabeth said, excitedly. "I have some guys around there right now doing everything I tell them to for a few pizzas in return. I have plans, layouts, and everything's coming together and I'm not even there! I call it: Architecture from Afar."

Reyna paused. "Well it's always healthy to replace men with work," Reyna sighed. "Luckily, we have a thing to go to tonight."

"A thing?"

"A gala," Reyna smirked. "We've been invited by a couple of very cute bartenders, that are easy to hide behind."

Annabeth paused. "A double date?"

"It is _not_ a double date," Reyna said. "It is a group thing."

"Do they know it's a group thing?" Annabeth asked. Reyna just rolled her eyes. "Gala's sound to posh anyway. What even is it for?"

Reyna shrugged. "It's his grandparent's anniversary, and they are super, super rich. All I'm suggesting is that we go, we have a few drinks, we make some new friends. It can't hurt, can it?"

"I'm not ready to get back out there," Annabeth told her.

"Me neither," Reyna said and Annabeth scoffed. "Seriously," Reyna said. "I don't want a boyfriend. I want a distraction. And you need one. So will you be my date to this lame gala?"

Annabeth almost laughed. "Okay, fine."

They had paid for their hot chocolates in advance, so they stood up, packing up their stuff to leave. "Hey," Reyna said. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Annabeth said.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Annabeth finally understood why Jason had been so relentless with his calling. She had finally picked up the phone, five minutes before she was meant to be leaving the hotel room. One of the best things about Reyna's sister was that she could give them discounts and free same-day delivery on everything they wanted.

So she had been looking in the closet mirror at the dark navy gown with the strapless, sweetheart neckline and light shower of silver patterns on the tight waist. She had been playing with the flimsy skirt. "It's some weird Cinderella fetish, is what it is," she was saying as Reyna pinned her hair up in the fanciest bun Annabeth had ever seen, a two single blond curls falling on either side of her face. She was even made to where high heels and make up.

Reyna's time on Circe's island had paid off. She was an artist with this kind of stuff. She had turned Annabeth from a bookworm to a Goddess in just under an hour.

Reyna also looked amazing. She wore a silky red gown with a tight waist and two straps, only slightly less poufy than Annabeth's. Her black hair was let down and fell in thick waves. She had braided along the top of her head like a crown.

Annabeth was feeling better about going to this thing. It was classy, and there was much to learn from it. There would be authors and artists she could speak to, and even admirably famous architects she could get advice from. The building it took place in was a work of art in itself, an old, very big, grand hotel with amazing flooring.

Reyna had convinced her that socializing on this trip was the best thing for her and she was actually looking forward to it. Until Jason called.

She rolled her eyes as she picked up. "Hello?" she said. "Oh, I mean, Bonjour!"

Reyna leaned over her shoulder. "No, you mean, au reviour!" she corrected.

Annabeth pushed her back, smirking. "This better be life or death Jason."

What Jason had to say next made her fall to her knees in shock. She didn't say anything, or react in any way. Her face looked more confused than anything. Reyna had ventured into the other room while Annabeth was on the phone, but she looked back in. "Annabeth?" she called. "Annabeth, what's the matter? What happened?"

Annabeth just looked up at her. She couldn't think, or acknowledge anything or breath. She started having a panic attack. Her breathing picked up, heavier and faster and she fell to the floor. She was vaguely aware of Reyna's hands on her shoulder, Reyna trying to talk to her.

She was more aware of the fact that she moved so fast, she was pushed under a dizzy spell, lights came in front of her eyes and she couldn't see and suddenly: she was back in Tartarus, drinking the fire river, fighting the monsters. Even worse: When she went blind and she thought Percy had left her. Only this time: it was true.

She thought she was going to faint. She wished she did faint. When, in a hospital, a patient was in an excruciating amount of pain, like they would be in a surgery, they knocked them unconscious so they couldn't feel it. Annabeth was in a lot more pain than those patients could ever imagine, so why was she not knocked unconscious? Why did she had to bare through it? What did she do to feel this way?

"Annabeth!" a voice said near her ear.

Annabeth leaned into Reyna, seeking comfort and trying not to scream. "How?" Annabeth croaked, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks. "How?"

"How what?" Reyna asked, wrapping her arms around her. Annabeth noticed a brown paper bag over her mouth and Reyna moved it away when she began to speak.

"How do you keep going?" Annabeth asked, her voice shaky and ragged, her voice completely broken. Very fitting. Now it could match her mind, her heart and her soul. "How do you keep going when the worst thing has happened?" she sobbed.

"What do you have to change inside of yourself to survive?" she asked. At this point she was pretty much willing to change everything about herself if it meant she didn't feel that way. "This can't be true," she said. "Jason must have been lying to me, or he was wrong. This can't be true."

"What can't be true?" Reyna asked, desperately. "Annabeth, tell me what's wrong so I can help."

"No one can help," she whispered, pathetically.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Jason paced around New York, walking amongst the sky scrapers and trying to clear his head. He had taken a flight out the day before as there was some business that needed attending to in the big city. He had an address in his hand, but he made no attempt to find the apartment for an entire day.

In what world was this news the responsibility of a teenager? In what twisted, sick world, was it a nineteen year olds job to tell a mother that… that…

He found himself in front of Sally Jackson's door, breathing heavily as he knocked on it. He hated what he had to say, he regretted it before he could even say it. Why was it his job? In a sudden rush of red hot anger, Jason's fist flew through a wall – not one into the apartment, a different one – and when the door opened, Ms Jackson looked at him worriedly.

"I don't think anybody liked that wall anyway," she said. "Are you okay, Jason?"

He tried so hard to nod his head, but it shook instead. "No," he whispered, honestly. His voice was cracked; his eyes were red; he was shaking slightly. "No. We need to talk."

"What happened?" Sally asked, sitting Jason down at the dining table and sticking the kettle on, preparing to make some tea. "With Percy and Annabeth, that is."

Jason paused, shaking. He had to tell her the truth about Percy, but how could he possibly begin with telling her Percy cheated on Annabeth? How was he supposed to tell Sally that Percy had been… he hated himself for even thinking it. Percy was gone, and Jason was unable to comprehend that. How was he supposed to think or say the worst of him?

"They fell out of synch," Jason said, his throat sore. All he could feel was this pain, and this sadness. Percy had become such an extreme part of his life. How was he supposed to live now? To survive without him? Jason hadn't been able to rest, to think without him. "They fell apart."

"And you're here to tell me Percy is missing," Sally guessed sitting down opposite Jason and handing Jason his mug of tea. She seemed surprisingly calm and collected about the whole thing.

Jason paused. "I'm here… to tell you Percy has…" There was a long pause. "His body washed up on the coast of Spain."

Sally's face fell. "What?" she asked.

"Percy passed away," Jason whispered. "I haven't comprehended it myself really. Well I have, but I haven't mourned. The thing is: I'll start crying… and I'm afraid I might not ever be able to stop."

"That's impossible," Sally whispered in shock. She paused. "Can they send postcards from the Underworld?" she asked.

Jason shook his head. "Sally-" he was long since on first name terms with Percy's mother. Reyna didn't have much family, but he was still on 'Your Majesty' terms with Hylla.

"Percy's not dead," she said, simply.

Denial. The first stage. "Look, I know-" he tried again.

"He's been sending me postcards," she said, matter-of-factly. "How can he be dead and send me postcards?"

Jason paused, staring at her. "I'm sorry, what?"

Sally stood up and moved over to a cabinet, pulling out a small bundle of postcards and laying them out on the table in order of when she got them. Jason picked them up and read them. "This means he's alive, right?"

 _'Mom, I'm okay. -Percy'_ The first one said, simply.

The second one came only a week later: _'I'm still okay. Don't worry about me. -Percy'_

And the third: _'I love you. I'm okay. -Percy'_

There were more, about one for every week, all saying something similar, assuring Sally that he was okay. Jason slowly nodded to answer Sally's question as he read them. "Yes, he must be alive. But not for long. I'm going to kill him."

* * *

 **A/N: Heyy! So I was going to wait until much later to update this because I wanted to add suspense but *sigh* you know how I is.**

 **You guys used to be so polite and kind to me! Now I'm getting 'you're evil' and 'why would you do this' ect ect. I'm kidding, I love you guys and thanks for reviewing. Nice to know you feel so strongly about this! And don't worry, things get better. Also, if it makes you feel any better, my mother read a PM I got about the last chapter and then yelled at me for upsetting people.** **"FANFICTION IS SUPPOSED TO MAKE PEOPLE HAPPY!" she said. Lmao.**

 **Now, there's something I quickly want to say about next chapter: This chapter was set in the POV's of everyone but Percy. Next chapter is mostly Percy. It may be a little hard to follow, but hopefully you'll get it. Everything in Italics will be a dream. Okay? The first scene is a dream of a memory. Not a canon memory, a memory I made up, but it's one of Percy's memories and he's remembering it in a dream.**

 **The second scene keeps flickering between reality and dreams. Again, all dreams will be in Italics.**

 **One of my friends found it complicated when she read it so I tried to simplify it down a little. Also: You may have noticed something new about the description. I played a game with one of my IRL friends who reads this fic. 'Spot the Gossip Girl Reference' although it's been getting a little out of hand recently and I had to give credit eventually. Only a few references. Most of it's all me.**

 **Review before you go! -Izzy**


	22. Chapter 22

**CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO:** _Double Identity_

As Percy lost consciousness, the guys looked over the box, opening it up and raising their eyebrows at the silver engagement ring, already making guesses of what it was worth. They ran off, leaving Percy alone, weak, drunk and dying in the dark, wet alleyway.

* * *

 _The sun shone brightly above them, lighting up their skin as it kept them warm. Percy lay on his back, wearing jeans and a camp t-shirt. He kept fiddling with Riptide in his pocket, but his eyes were closed. Partially to block out the light of the sun, partially to enjoy the peace. There was no pain, no hum of traffic like the alleyway, no gunshot wound. Nothing._

 _Except from a light weight on the right half of his body. Annabeth was sleeping against him, her head on his chest as they slept under the sun. They were supposed to be picking strawberries, but they never did as they were told._

 _"Hey," Annabeth whispered in his ear, kissing his cheek. "Wake up, Seaweed Brain."_

 _"I'm awake," he said, opening his eyes and looking around the strawberry field at Camp Half Blood. Then he looked at Annabeth. She was sixteen in this memory. So was he. Almost four years ago, just after the Titan War. "Wise Girl," he smirked._

 _She smiled, wearing shorts and a camp t-shirt. "Do you ever wonder about our future?" she asked as they lay down, cuddled up together. "What our memories will be like?"_

 _"This is a future memory," he muttered, grinning. "The one time we lay in the strawberry fields, and your boyfriend kissed you…" as he said this, he leaned forward and kissed her gently. "And whispered in your ear that you're beautiful," he whispered._

 _She smirked. Then she sat up and Percy's eyebrows furrowed together. That wasn't how he remembered the day. That day, she leaned back into him and they fell asleep together. She never sat up…_

 _"You know this is a dream, right?" she asked, looking worried and a little sad._

 _He nodded, softly. "Yeah, I know."_

 _"The real you is off somewhere getting shot," she said, glumly. "Why here?" she asked, gesturing around the strawberries._

 _"Because here is a time I was truly at peace," Percy whispered, smiling._

 _"You need to wake up," she said._

 _"But isn't this dream much nicer than reality?" he asked, looking up at her in awe. The sun shone so perfectly it made her curly blonde hair look golden and she looked somewhat like a sun goddess._

 _"But you need to face reality," she said. "Percy, you need to find a river. You're not too far from the bridge. You need to get to a river. Your father will help keep you alive, and he'll take you somewhere to heal you. Just find a river."_

 _"I can't," he said, peacefully shrugging. "Annabeth I can't. In reality, I am in so much pain. Emotionally, mentally, not to mention physically. I was left for dead."_

 _"I know," she said. "But if you find a river, you can survive."_

 _"I can't," he said again. "Annabeth… I am so tired. So, so tired. Of fighting, of forcing myself to stay awake. This… you… this is all my Elysium. Don't you see? I can't do it anymore."_

 _She got to her feet and he sat up. She looked angry. "Yes you can! And you will, Percy Jackson. You will fight because after everything that we've been through, you owe me that!"_

 _He paused again, sighing. "Annabeth… wait, what's wrong?"_

 _She had dropped down to her knees, gasping for breath. "Annabeth?!" he said, frantically rushing over to her. He watched as blood started leaking through her orange shirt, staining it. "What happened, Annabeth?!" He cried. He tried to cover the wound in his hand, but it had no effect. His hand only got covered with her blood._

 _That definitely didn't happen in the memory. The wound was identical to his own, his gunshot wound. "The river," she breathes, choking as she began to cough up blood. He didn't hesitate. He scooped her up in his arms and started running through camp._

After that, he got a little confused as to what was real and what wasn't. His mind kept flashing, showing him two scenes: In one, he was in the dream, carrying Annabeth through camp to the beach as she blead to death. In the other, he was stumbling through a rainy night, past people as he got to the Golden Gate Bridge, which was coincidentally, just around the corner from the alleyway.

All of the pieces began to click in his mind. In the dream he carried Annabeth. In the dream, her life was the reason to keep moving, to keep fighting to get to the beach. In reality, the thought and worry of Annabeth was motivating him to keep going to the nearest source of water.

In the dream he carried Annabeth. In reality Annabeth carried him.

He dropped Annabeth in the ocean and watched her heal. At the same time, he felt himself soar threw the air and someone screamed 'NOO!' Soon after he landed in the water, and then he blacked out.

-0-0-0-0-0-

He had some more trouble with reality. But this time, it was more… painful. He once again faded in and out of reality, but he left reality because it was too painful. He then zoned back into reality because what he dreamed about also hurt.

In reality, someone had ripped off his shirt and was pouring alcohol all over the wound. He screamed in agony and he got a glimpse at the person, a woman, covering her mouth in fear of his life.

 _In the dream, he was standing in the coffee shop he worked in with Reyna. It was a memory from the argument they had just after he bought Camille home._

 _He just rolled his eyes. "Can you at least try to be friendly?"_

 _She turned to him, menacingly. "That's the thing, Percy," she said. "I don't think I want to be friends anymore."_

In reality, the woman had stuck a knife in his gunshot wound and was trying to get the bullet out. He cried out in pain, screaming.

 _In the dream, he stood in a street in New Rome. It was when he was supposed to be watching Camille, but he had crossed the street to argue with Jason._

 _"Well I'm not going to bully her as we walk," he said, beginning to get defensive._

 _Jason rolled his eyes. "You know what this looks like, right?" he asked. "First you bring her home, then you spend days out with her-"_

In reality, the woman had pricked him with some sought of needle. It was the least painful of her procedures, but the pain from the whole wound in itself was still agonizing. He was panting, breathing heavily as he tried not to scream.

 _In the dream, he was stood in the pouring rain, facing Annabeth, who was crying._

 _"DON'T!" Annabeth exclaimed at the top of her lungs. The anger had kicked in. She glared at him, growling slightly and Percy wouldn't have been surprised if she was seeing red. She screeched the word, but what she said afterwards was dangerously calm. "Don't say her name to me. Or anything else ever again."_

He didn't know how long it was before he woke up completely.

-0-0-0-0-0-

When he did wake up, everything around him was blurry and out of focus. He couldn't hear anything at first, but when he tuned in it was to silence. His eyes fluttered open and he leaned his head up, but it was still too painful to sit up properly. His eyes were very red and puffy from crying, he was pale and very skinny. He had been washed up though, and changed into some cleaner clothes.

He lay in a small bed, with a thin duvet and thin mattress. There was a girl sat by him, the one who healed him. Her head was rested on her hand but she looked up in near astonishment when she saw him waking up. "Rest," she whispered, laying a hand on his shoulder.

She had thick dark hair that fell in waves and tan skin. Big brown eyes and red lips. "Where am I?" Percy asked, desperately looking around.

"Somewhere safe," she muttered, calmly. "My name is Emeraude. Daughter of Venus."

"You're a Demigod," he said, stunned. She nodded. "And… how did you know I am?" he asked. She simply pointed to his tattoo.

"Although I don't know what that symbol means," she said.

He paused. "Some minor God with a really long name I don't know how to pronounce," he lied, shrugging. Now was really not the time for his true identity.

"And what is _your_ name?" she asked.

Another pause. "Liam," he lied. "Liam Blofis."

* * *

Two months later…

Percy still walked with a limp and a cane. Emeraude had found him some crappy walking stick and he used that whenever he went anywhere. Emeraude became a sought of friend to him. She didn't know his real name, but he told her he would be sticking around for a while, so she let him move to Madrid with her.

They became roommates. Percy didn't have anything, so she got him a bed and it in the second room so he could sleep properly. She also started teaching him a little Spanish, so he could order food, talk to people, buy things. Like Postcards. His mother had gone out of her mind with worry last time he went missing, so he wanted to give her constant reassurance that he was okay. But he never told her where he was or what had happened.

He didn't need or want anybody to come looking for him.

He got a job eventually. Nothing but sweeping floors and collecting dishes in a restaurant. A bus boy. But he had to where a shirt, tie and waistcoat and he got money at the end of every fortnight, so he was grateful for it. Besides, his boss was pretty cool. He let him take a little extra to pay Emeraude some rent and helped him overcome obstacles that were hard for him because of his wound.

Every night, he would go back to Emeraude's apartment, and they'd eat take out and talk. They made a deal. She wouldn't ask about his past if he didn't ask about hers. Every night she would check his stitches before letting him go to bed and he healed a little more every day.

"Nobody likes liquorice," Emeraude argued one night. They were lounging on the couch in her apartment, having a very heated argument. "It's disgusting. It tastes like ink."

"It's a classic movie snack!" Percy argued. He was feigning anger, but really, he was happy. For the first time in a while. It wasn't like, overall he was all grins and cheer, he was still devastated about everything that happened. But in that moment, he was happy. "It's right up there with popcorn!"

"Popcorn?" she exclaimed. "You're out of you mind. Popcorn is delicious and beautiful and sacred. Liquorice is _asqueroso_!"

"That's to reliable coming from you, Miss Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich!" he exclaimed.

"Hey!" she joked. "I stand by that sandwich. It was incredible. "Liquorice is dirt."

"It's like little chewy pieces of heaven!" he insisted.

Emeraude kissed him once. He pulled away but she didn't seem too offended. He told her part of the truth. He had once been a part of an epic love and he wasn't ready to move on from it yet. She told him it was fine, that it was okay. He believed she meant it.

He had no ID, nobody knew who he was. The whole affair was a chance for a new start, a second chance. Even if just for a little while. No doubt the Gods would find him and ask him to save the world again, but while it lasted it was bliss.

It's been very nice not being Percy Jackson. Even if just for a couple months.

Unfortunately, one night, when he was limping back to the apartment from the post office, there was a small bridge he had to cross. Nothing fancy, although it looked amazing at night time. It was alit with golden light that flooded from nearby buildings, and drizzled onto the still river below. It was always warm and bright and vaguely romantic.

And one night, when he was limping over it, he saw something one the other side that changed everything.

-0-0-0-0-0-

After Jason got a hold of the postcards, it didn't take him long to track down Percy's whereabouts. A few cases of post office blackmailing and Percy's location had been tracked down to a small apartment in Madrid. Of course, the first thing Jason did after receiving the postcards was call Annabeth to tell her there had been a terrible mistake.

Annabeth put him on the phone with Reyna and she promised they would go over the border and find Percy. They had still been in their long dresses when they got the call, and without a minute wasted, they jumped into a taxi.

"Do you know what you're going to say?" Reyna asked. The driver had asked for a lot, and asked for them to pay upfront. Reyna just gave him a credit card Annabeth was pretty sure belonged to Hylla.

Annabeth shook her head. She had cleaned up nicely, so it almost looked like she hadn't been crying. Almost.

Most of the drive was in silent. They weren't stopped at the border, by some strange miracle. They kept driving and driving for hours. Reyna occasionally tried to ease the tension by making conversation but it never worked.

It felt like years. The drive. Annabeth wondered if she got out and ran, would she get there faster? Every logical thought she had told her 'no' but there was a part of her that was so desperate to see Percy alive and well that it didn't care about logic.

At one point, Annabeth opened the little silver clutch bag she was holding and pulled out a tiny black box. "This came in the mail a few days ago," she said, opening it up and showing Reyna the ring inside. "Jason had the cops send over Percy's things. This was among them. I didn't tell you because I couldn't say it aloud."

"Oh my Gods," Reyna breathed. "Percy was going to..."

"It must have been a few months before we split up," Annabeth said, surprisingly casual. "Before he met Camille."

Reyna looked at her, concerned. "What are you going to do with it?"

Annabeth just shrugged and sighed. "I don't know."

When they arrived Annabeth opened the back door of the limo in a hurry. The driver told them the apartment was just around the corner and Annabeth jumped out. She picked up her long skirt and ran off.

Reyna rolled her eyes, climbing out of the taxi and thanking the driver. He was grumbling about having to drive all that way home to get to his wife. And it was the middle of the night. Reyna watched Annabeth run, almost like Cinderella from the ball. And someone else was watching her as well.

A woman with dark black hair and big brown eyes, red lips and tan skin. She gawked at Annabeth and Reyna could almost see puzzle pieces clicking in her mind, parts of a story coming together. Reyna was walking after Annabeth, but she stopped when she came to this woman. They faced each other for a minute and Reyna guess she was no older than them.

"I knew it was too good to be true," she whispered in Spanish. She looked at Reyna and could tell from her facial expressions that she spoke the language. "Who is she?"

Reyna sighed lightly and stopped following Annabeth. It was clear this girl knew Percy and needed some sought of explanation... Annabeth ran off into the night, following the directions the taxi driver had told her to take and Reyna just hoped she could think clearly, so she could find the place.

But Annabeth didn't need to. Just around the corner from where she left Reyna, she encountered a bridge, lit up golden from the lights of nearby buildings, the water still below it. And what she saw on the other side stopped her in her tracks.

Percy Jackson was standing there, staring at her. He had a small bundle of mail in his hands and a walking stick that he was heavily leaning on. He wore a dirty white t-shirt and set pants. His hair was flat and his eyes looked dark and tired. He limped towards her and she strutted forward on heels, letting go of the long skirt of her gown. Her hair was in place and her face looked surprisingly bright given the circumstances.

What a fairy-tale they were. The princess and the pauper. Except now, he wasn't her Prince Charming. He was somebody else's.

"I bet you wish I was Camille right now," she said, softly as she walked toward him. Even wearing heels, she was shorter than him. She smirked, remembering a time when she was taller. Such a carefree time...

He paused wondering if 'anon' was still a threat. Probably. Even if they weren't in Spain, if him and Annabeth got back together he could see intense consequences on the horizon.

"Camille and I ended things," he said after a short pause. "Believe it or not, I was pretty distraught after what happened. I didn't want to be involved with her anymore, it wasn't right."

"Well, just because you're weak and fragile," she said, not actually meaning for it to sound insulting, "doesn't mean you're not Percy Jackson."

"Why would I want to be him?" he asked.

She paused, nodding slightly. "You should have told me you got shot," she said, is if catching up with an old friend.

"I'm surprised you didn't shoot me yourself."

"I have," she smiled. "Many times, in my dreams. The good ones." She paused a little, her face falling. She spoke sadly afterwards, a little ashamed. "But if you were really hurt... I would want to know."

He paused, wondering what he was supposed to tell her. "When I woke up, my ID was gone," he said, shrugging simply. "Nobody knew who I was; nobody was going to look for me. There wasn't an apocalypse that needed me. I realised I may be alive, but Percy Jackson doesn't have to be."

"Changing your name doesn't change who you are," Annabeth said.

"It's a good start," he said. "A chance to live simply. A chance to earn peoples trust and their respect. Maybe become a person someone could love."

Annabeth paused, looking up at him with big eyes. "Someone did love you," she told him. She looked down, taking a deep breath to calm herself. "And somebody was looking for you. Jason Grace spent the last few months going out of his mind with worry. And you owe it to him... and the girl who loved you, and everyone else you're leaving behind, not to run away. Which is what you're doing." He looked down himself, only coming to realise that it was shameful. "And I don't think that great man you talk about wanting to be," she continued, "is a coward. I think he would face up to what he did."

"What I did," Percy scoffed. "Annabeth what I did... I destroyed one of the things I loved the most."

There was a pause before Annabeth reached into her silver clutch bag and bringing out the tiny back box. She held it out for him and he looked confused, taking it from her. She then looked up from her hands and sighed, as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Only now her eyes had begun to glisten. "I don't love you anymore," she said, confidently. Then she smirked at him. "But it takes more than even you to destroy Annabeth Chase."

Technically he had been talking about their relationship. "Your world would be easier if I didn't come back," he insisted softly.

She nodded, forcing a small smile. "That's true," she whispered. "But it wouldn't be my world without you in it."

* * *

 **A/N: It'll be worth noting: Last chapter started off two months after the shooting. This chapter starts immediately after and then skips two months.**

 **In regards to It's Called Christmas: There is technically supposed to be two more chapters, but Christmas went by before I could finish them. I will probably update it when I have time, so I wouldn't call it OVER, but don't expect any updates coming in soon. I would like to finish it eventually.**

 **One review particularly stood out to me and I thought I would address this. The reviewer is a few chapters behind but I think this is important for everyone to take note of: Any jokes I made about Camille finding Christianity was not meant to be offensive or judgemental in anyway. I was not looking to shame Christians at all. I live in a Christian household and my two best friends are Christian and I would never make purposely offensive jokes at ANY religion. Any jokes made are jokes because it's CAMILLE, who's kind of Satan. Sorry if this was misunderstood.**

 **I wish I could now say 'on a lighter note' but I have bad news. I promised another collection of readers (for a TVD fanfiction) that I would publish a sequel in early February, which I have done a little early. Also, within the next week, my pre-HoO Jeyna series will come off of Hiatus (yay). This means I'll be working three main stories. Updates may come a little slower, so please bare with me.**

 **Hours to write, seconds to review! -Izzy**


	23. Chapter 23

**CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE:** _Keep Your Friends Close_

Michael tapped his foot, leaning back in the hard plastic chair. The Campus Journalism Committee had asked him to come in that one early morning to talk about the publication of his book. Unfortunately, they weren't very good with not making people wait.

After maybe thirty minutes, some student called him into a little office and smiled at him as she sat down on a couch, looking not very comfortable in a blazer, rectangle glasses and a tight bun. "I'm Natalie," she smiled, bringing out a tiny laptop. "I'm just going to be asking you a few questions. Our committee is fully student-run so please think of me as you peer and be comfortable. We are very interested in _Rosefield Wasn't Built in a Day_."

He just nodded a little awkwardly. "Fire away."

She started up Word Document and turned to him. "How does it feel to be the youngest published author New Rome has ever seen?" she asked.

Michael grinned to himself, very proud of his accomplishment. "Incredible," he answered, honestly. "I've worked so hard on this book, I've stayed up nights editing, and I just feel over the moon about how it's turned out. I have so many people to thank, but I'm also going to take this moment and be arrogant, and thank myself for all of the effort I put in."

"So you feel like you've worked hard?" Natalie asked. "And that you deserve it?"

"I don't know how I feel about the word 'deserve'," he said. "I know I've definitely worked hard on this, but there are so many aspiring authors in this city who deserve to feel as proud as I do right now."

Natalie smiled at him. "The rest of Rome is proud of you as well. How do you feel about the publication of the book in the Mortal World?"

He paused. "Well, whilst the book is based in New Rome, it's been censored to be appropriate for Mortals. I don't intend on staying in this city my entire life. Whilst it will aways be my home, I intend to travel, to visit everywhere I can. So already having my name out there is a good thing."

Natalie typed some stuff down before looking back up at him and grinning. "How would you describe your portrayel of our city?" she asked.

"Honest," he answered, almost instantly. "Most demigods who reside here see heroes; streets littered with war heroes. They see strong, happy people. I look beneath that. We're all forced to be magnificent from a very young age, so when we're free of the legion, we finally have the chance to be children. And adults being children is never a good thing."

Natalie paused, her smile falling. "So you think the word 'hero' is a façade we hide behind?"

"Most definitely," he nodded. "We've all done great things, but now, that's over. And we turn to cheating, lying, stealing and drama to keep us entertained. I mean, have you been to the city's university? There's more drama there than the theatre. Shit metaphor, I know."

Natalie nodded, typing that down without her smile. When she looked back up at him, she forced herself to grin. "How far do you relate to the phrase 'every writer has his muse'?"

He nodded, recognising it. "I believe it's true. Including for me. My muse was…" he paused, remembering the black eyes that lit up with her laugh, the dark braids and wavy hair, the strong armour and weaponry, and the kind heart that was underneath. "Amazing," he continued. "She was truly amazing."

"Was?" Natalie asked. "What happened to her?"

Michael shrugged. "If you've read my book, you'll know that the main female protagonist is not a good person," he said. "She was based off of my muse. She was great at first. She's beautiful, and strong, but secretly sweet. She has this laugh, which makes you laugh. But she's also selfish and entitled.

"She broke my heart," he continued. "I meant nothing to her, and she ditched me the second she got a shot with some other guy. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if she was only using me to make him jealous in the first place."

"You hate your muse?" Natalie asked. "That's new."

"I do," he nodded. "Which is unfortunate as everyone looks up to her as a hero, a queen even. When she's nothing more than a liar."

"Wait, wait, wait," Natalie said, breaking out of her cool, professional manner. "Is it Reyna?! Now there's some gossip we haven't heard. How did that even happen?"

"If I speak honestly, will you promise not to put it in your piece?" he asked. She closed her laptop and held her hands up in a form of surrender. "I was trying to get her to fall in love with me so I could write the ultimate exposure. Bringing down the Golden Girl. Whilst I was trying to win her affections, I realised I was in love with her."

-0-0-0-0-0-

The apartment had been Annabeth's summer project. But they had been planning for it for months before hand. It was made for the four of them, but Percy's betrayal had kind of left him out of the move. And the fact that he was still in Spain, as far as anybody knew.

It was a very mismatched apartment above a convenience store. Through the front door, directly to ones right was a closet that they kept a washing machine, dryer and vacuum cleaner. A little bit next to that was a bathroom with white wooden floors and silver wall tiles. It was fairly small, but had a shower/bath, sink and toilet so it was pretty satisfactory.

One continued down the hall until the living room, which was pretty big. There was a large, L-shaped white couch with orange cushions, dark hardwood floors, a darker coffee table and light blue walls covered in pictures. The only thing that separated the living room from the kitchen was a counter with a couple barstools around it.

Opposite the entrance to the hallway, there was a balcony, that was filled with overgrown plants and thorns. Annabeth left the job of clearing it to Reyna when she saw a spider. Reyna was going to get out that weekend to clear it up. Next to the balcony was Annabeth's room.

Now, the most mismatched thing about the apartment was the doors. The door leading into Annabeth's room was a sliding opaque glass one, not a normal bedroom door. Inside, it had originally been designed for her and Percy to share, with green and blue tones and wooden furniture. After their break up, Annabeth had tried to redecorate with black and white sheets and curtains, colourless photography, and a white bookshelf built into the wall. Despite that, the walls were still a light blue and the room was still considered colourful.

There was an on suit bathroom with no bath, but a shower and a skylight. Annabeth didn't like the skylight. Maybe if it wasn't in a bathroom.

Back in the living room were the entrances to Reyna and Jason's bedrooms. Opposite Annabeth's and next to the hallway that lead to the front door, was Reyna. Behind a set of double doors. Her walls were a medium shade of purple and she had light hardwood floors. Her bed was royally decorated with throw pillows and thick, heavy duvets. She had a magnificent dresser with a few simple decorations, including photographs or her loved ones and purple lamps. She had a few decorative candles dotted around the room.

Next to her room was Jason's, behind one single bedroom door. He had to smallest room, but it was still pretty spacy. It had dark blue walls and lots of shelves surrounding his bed to make it a little alcove. It had a tilted ceiling and he had lots of books, trophies and devices on the shelves. Including the best sound system in the whole apartment. His bed was amazingly comfortable with two mattresses and a thick duvet and grey sheets. At the bottom of his bed he kept a large box filled with files, essays and study stuff.

Jason had actually been tidying around his room when he heard the knock on the front door. He was confused, wondering who could possibly be there. They had kind of drifted away from everyone those past few months, and nobody would come to visit them. Maybe Reyna or Annabeth had forgotten their key.

Jason jogged to the front door and swung it open before gasping.

Percy smiled shyly. "Did you miss me?" he asked. Jason moved to one side so Percy could come inside They sat on the barstools and Jason made Percy a coffee. "I'm all better," Percy was saying. He lifted up the corner of his shirt and showed Jason a faint white scar. "After I got some ambrosia and nectar in me, I was basically good as new."

"You don't look it," Jason sighed. Percy still was pale and had bags under his eyes. His hair was flat, and whilst his wound was healed, he still walked with a very slight limp.

"Thank you," Percy said. "How have you been? What's new?"

Jason shrugged, sitting next to him. "Nothing, really."

"Come on," Percy exclaimed, grinning. "I've been out of the loop for months. Fill me in on all the drama."

"Percy, you were the drama," Jason said. "We were all kind of focused on you. Reyna and Annabeth were focused on moving on, and I… well I spent days without sleep looking for any sign on you."

"Thank you," Percy said after a very long pause.

It was awkward for a second. "Oh, um… I did get a new mattress," he said, trying to change the topic to something less sad. "Memory foam," he said, sounding as if the two words were the most important piece of advice Percy would every get. Then he just sounded astonished and flattered when he said: "It remembers me!"

Percy laughed. "What about Reyna?" he asked. "I've been gone for months; you still haven't asked her out?"

Jason paused. "I will," he said. "But, I mean… It's Reyna. I want it to be perfect."

"Well she's kind of a control freak," Percy shrugged. "So you may be waiting a while."

"I'm a patient guy," Jason said. Percy smirked and patted him on the shoulder. "Oh, Michael's book is getting published next month."

Percy nodded, impressed. "Damn. The one written about us?" Jason nodded. "Well, I can't wait to read it. Is he still mad at Reyna?" Jason nodded again.

"How was Spain?" he asked. "Other than the bullet wound?"

"It was good," Percy said. "It was a very good break. I think I really needed it, you know? It was very nice not being Percy Jackson. Even if just for a few months."

"Liam Blofis, right?" Jason asked. There was another pause. "Why did you come back? Why didn't you just stay Liam Blofis?"

Percy looked sad at that question. Even slightly hurt. "Annabeth convinced me," he said. "I owed it to the people I was leaving behind not to run away. Annabeth, Reyna. You."

Jason paused. "Sorry, I don't believe that."

Percy's face fell even further. "Believe what?"

"That you came back for me. You didn't," he said. "Annabeth, sure. I can believe that. Maybe even for your education here, but you didn't come back for me at all." He didn't mean to say that… he just did.

"I did," Percy said. "Jason you're my brother. I missed you."

"You missed me?" Jason said, his voice rising, not out of anger, but out of hurt. "You destroyed me," he corrected. "Okay, Percy? I thought you were dead! I had to tell your mother that you were. I braced myself for the heartbreak when I told her, her son was dead. But she already knew you were alive, you had sent her postcards convincing her you were safe. I apparently didn't get the same privilege."

There was a long pause. Percy looked, down and Jason couldn't help but think he looked… broken. "I didn't think you would look for me," Percy said. "I thought, that day in the rain, that things weren't just over with Annabeth, but with you as well. And Reyna."

"I thought you were dead," Jason said. He wondered how long it had been since his last full night of sleep. How long it had been since he wasn't glued to his laptop, trying to find some hint of where he could be. He tried not to remember the agonizing pain he felt when he found out Percy had been shot, when he thought his brother was dead.

"But I'm not," Percy said, his voice shaky as he looked up at Jason. "Aren't you glad that I'm not?"

Jason nodded. "Of course I'm glad, Percy." There was another pause as Jason ran his hand through his hair. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring that up. I really want to let it go. Put it behind us."

"You'd forget what I did?" Percy asked. "Just like that?"

He nodded. "It's called forgiveness," Jason said. "It's what we do."

"But what if I don't deserve it?" Percy asked.

Jason shrugged. "I forgive you anyway," Jason said. "That's what we do in our group. We forgive despite. Besides, the girls are going to hate you, so you might as well have one person on your side."

* * *

 **A/N: So, I went onto this in the Doc Manager and realised I had left [INSERT LINE HERE] twice in the last chapter, instead of actually inserting the line. I don't know if any of you guys noticed, but if that's not proof that I'm a little bit on an idiot, I don't know what it. Don't go back and check now, it's been fixed. But it made me laugh.**

 **Yes, Jercy angst because why not?! But also, now they are friends ago, so you're welcome.**

 **I'm not even going to say anything about Michael, you can interpret that anyway you want it. Let's just say his storyline is not over. No character is leaving this story without a tremendous amount of angst!**

 **Loving the reviews from last chapter. Percabeth is not over, I still have so much of them I want to write. Bare in mind that this story's looking to be about 40 chapters long so yeah, we have a lot of time to fix all the bad stuff. Don't worry amigos. But, at the same time: It will not be fixed immediately. Obviously. There's going to be a lot of steps to Percabeth redemption. Just calm down guys.** **-Izzy**


	24. Chapter 24

**CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR:** _Authors Note_

 _The relationship between Reanna and Annabelle was purely for show. They could never be friends, not really. When two people were so similar there was two outcomes of their time together: an intense, deep friendship that could stretch to the ends of the earth. Or the ever more likely: total social destruction. Especially in Rosefield._

 _If you had a hatred for someone in Rosefield, you ruined them. You made their school life Hell; you made their home life Hell; you made every relationship they had, complete and utter Hell. Surprisingly, Reanna and Annabelle were the exception to this rule. Sure, they hated each other with a burning passion, but they were civil._

 _Because if they weren't, war was declared. The left half and the right half of the school would destroy each other, nobody would be happy, and everyone would turn on the girls to blame them. They endured a friendship neither of them wanted, so they could rule over the school together and nobody would hate them for it._

 _Whoever said a kingdom couldn't have two queens, had never been to Rosefield High._

 _"Are people tweeting about us yet?" Annabelle asked, holding up a tight orange wrap dress against herself in front of the mirror in the door of her closet. "Please do not tell me this slumber party was all for nothing."_

 _"Relax," Reanna mused, lounging in Annabelle's bean bag as she held up her phone. "We've already got 8 tweets from girls who wished they were here with us." She swapped Twitter for her camera and pouted as she took a selfie._

 _"Good," Annabelle sighed. "I did not want to have invited you over for nothing."_

 _"Invited me over?" Reanna exclaimed. "Please! I basically had to break the door down and march my way up here. Next time I come at you with a brilliant plot, just go with it."_

 _"Brilliant plot?" Annabelle asked, sliding the dress back into her walk-in closet. "You'll be sleeping in my bed, eating my food. Where is the brilliancy in that?" She turned to Reanna and put her hands on her hips, flicking her long golden hair over one shoulder._

 _"What kind of best friends don't have sleepovers?" Reanna asked. "Tell me, Annabelle. Do you want to keep up this friend façade or have our sides of the school go to war until we're socially screwed?"_

* * *

Outside the college campus was a rather large bookstore, that was a beloved favourite to most in the city. It had a thin carpet and smelled like books and Annabeth, of course, loved it. "Ooh, I've been meaning to read this one," Reyna mused, holding up a small paper-back book.

"You'd like it," Annabeth nodded, approvingly.

"Of course you've read it," Reyna joked, sniggering. It was polite to be fairly quiet whilst people red blurbs and extracts, but it wasn't a library. They were allowed to talk. And Reyna used the opportunity to speak seriously, where Annabeth was comfortable. "How do we feel about Percy's return?" she asked.

"Wow," Annabeth laughed. "That just got very serious very quick. 0 to 100 really quick. You're about as subtle as a hand grenade, Rey."

"Thank you," Reyna smirked. "But seriously. Talk to me?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I don't know. I don't feel like talking about it."

"Okay," Reyna sighed, looking up as she thought to herself. "Let's talk about me then. I'm conflicted about the feelings I have now that Jason is back in my life…" Annabeth looked at her and cocked her head, knowingly. "Help?"

"That is a problem you had three years ago in our freshman year," Annabeth smirked. "But nice try at subtlety."

"But that's our thing," Reyna smiled. "We talk about me and pretend we're not _actually_ talking about you." Annabeth shook her head as she laughed, looking down at some book. Reyna just looked concerned at her. "Annabeth?"

Annabeth looked up and shrugged. "I think I'm afraid to get close to him again," she said. "So I've been avoiding him."

"Well do you still have feelings for him?" Reyna asked. "Romantically, I mean."

"I don't know," Annabeth sighed. Something caught her eye so she didn't hear Reyna's reply. "Reyna," Annabeth interrupted whatever she was saying. "Look!" She dragged Reyna over to a new bookstand, filled with large hard-backs. They had a black and white picture of a well-manicured hand with lots of bracelets around the wrist, holding a human heart.

"Gruesome," Reyna mused, reading the red title. _Rosefield Wasn't Built in a Day_ by Michael Kahale. Reyna's eyes widened as she flipped to the front page. "Oh my Gods," she muttered.

"This isn't a library," one of the workers called over. "You buy or you leave."

Annabeth gawked at the worker. "Rude. We'll take four." Reyna gave her an odd look. "Well it's based on us, Jason and Percy," she reminded her. "So four."

Reyna rolled her eyes and pulled out her purse to pay her share. "This is going to suck so bad," Reyna sighed. "I mean… I broke up with him after he wrote this book where I was supposedly portrayed as some… I don't even know. Good person." She held up the book to Annabeth. "This is a author's love song!" Then she paused as her face fell. "Oh Gods. I'm a groupie."

" _Was_ a groupie," Annabeth smirked. "Slash muse."

"Not helping," Reyna snapped.

"Oh, did you want me to hold your hand for support?" Annabeth asked. Reyna just sighed and Annabeth laughed. "I'm teasing," she said, putting her hands on Reyna's arms in a sooting manner. "It'll be fine, okay? You did the right thing."

"Thank you," Reyna said. "But back to the teasing: You're the supportive best friend. I'm the main character." She poked her tongue out at Annabeth.

"Ouch," Annabeth laughed. "That hit home."

"Turns out, not everyone wants Annabeth Chase," Reyna sniggered.

Annabeth just raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Not everyone can have her," she corrected. "You only have one chance to break my heart. You remember that, Reyna." She winked.

-0-0-0-0-0-

 _Perry Johnson was a particular favourite of Reanna's. Tall, lean, muscular. Dark hair and charming green eyes. He was a known skater, basket-ball player, and back-chatting bad ass, which meant that pretty much every girl in the school wanted to call him theirs. Reanna more than anyone._

 _After he got together with Annabelle, Reanna had been restless, chasing after him with her heart on her sleeve, with the intention of having his wrapped around her pinkie. When he refused her she got nasty. That's when the two girls started hating each other, and despite their friendship façade, Reanna would stop at nothing to call Perry hers. Even when they pretended to be friends, which killed Annabelle._

 _"Perry," she giggled, coming up behind him and covering his eyes with her hands. "Guess who?"_

 _Perry sighed, turning to face Reanna, who really was grinning too much. "Reanna!" he exclaimed, feigning delight. "What the hell are you doing here?" He was stood in the middle of the school's sports hall, teaching after-school basket-ball to freshman for extra credit._

 _"You promised you would teach me," she grinned, picking up a ball and trying to figure out how to hold it. "Well I'm here to learn."_

 _He nodded slowly, wishing he was pretty much anywhere but there. Some freshman started to notice his disinterest and he smiled at Reanna, pretending to be delighted. To keep their reign over the school, the kids had to believe they were the best of friends. "Sure!" he exclaimed._

 _He started talking but she interrupted, turning her back to him to face the hoops. "Guide me through the shot," she suggested. When he stepped closer she whispered to him: "Put your arms around me," so quietly that the freshman couldn't hear._

* * *

One of the best things to do in New Rome was to just walk. The streets were always beautiful and always full of life and happiness. At the same time, they were calm and soft. And taking a nice long walk in the evening was probably one of the best things in the world. That's what Reyna was trying to do then. She was already on Chapter Three of Michael's book and honestly, she was upset by it. Upset that she was portrayed as such a… bitch.

The kind of bitch who would fake a friendship for popularity, who would ruin a relationship for some crush. She wasn't that person and she hated being portrayed that way. She could understand Michael's anger but she couldn't shake the feeling of slight betrayal.

When she saw Percy walking towards her, she purposely avoided him by trying to cross the street but he reached an arm out to grab her wrist, trying to stop her. He was gentle, of course, but Reyna still resisted the urge to put him in a wrist-lock. He had been through enough pain over the last few months without her help.

"Reyna, wait," he said, letting go of her. He still walked with a very slight limp but he looked well-rested and fed. "Reyna, please talk to me. Please."

"I don't have anything I want to talk about," she said, her facial expression remaining still as she just looked at him, surprisingly calm.

"Well I do," he exclaimed slightly, being sure nobody else in the street over-heard him. Reyna was kind of surprised to see him wearing a Camp Jupiter t-shirt. If he was going to wear a camp shirt, why not Half-Blood? "Reyna, you have been one of the greatest friends I've ever had," he said. "Please tell me what I can do, or say to make us friends again."

She paused, narrowing her eyes. "I don't want to be friends anymore," she said, determined and confidently. It was so similar to what she said almost a year ago when he bought Camille home, but this time, it was a lot more… sure. "Percy you pretended to be dead for months. That nearly destroyed Jason. Annabeth broke when she thought you had died. I don't want to be friends with someone who could do that."

"Reyna-"

"I know, I'm the person who's allowed to complain least about this," she continued, ignoring him. "But for almost an hour, I thought you were dead. Gone. I spent all of that time comforting Annabeth, ignoring the fact that I was on the verge of breaking myself." The next thing she said was shaky, as if trying to stop her voice from breaking. Her bottom lip trembled slightly before she controlled it. "I mourned for you," she choked. "My heart broke thinking I would never see you again."

"That," Percy paused. "That right there is why I think I missed you the most."

"You missed me the most?" she demanded angrily, complete disbelief on her face.

He shook his head. "Bad choice of words. That's not exactly what I meant. It's just…. For everyone one person I was leaving behind, I could think of at least three people who would be there for them, fawn over them, help them through it. You were the person who would be there for everyone else but I was afraid nobody would be there for you. You were the hardest one to leave behind."

There was a pause. She swallowed before sighing and looking up trying to fight back emotion. "That's not going to fix this," she told him matter-of-factly. She crossed her arms before looking back at him.

"I know that," he said, calmly. "But, like I said. You're one of my best friends. The most amazing friend anybody could ask for. So please, just tell me I haven't lost you forever?"

There was a long pause as she thought. "Just answer me one thing," she requested, letting her arms drop and looking up at him with surprisingly sad eyes. "Why did you cheat on Annabeth? Did you do it because you honestly fell out of love? Or because you were spiteful? Or pray that this was another one of Camille's schemes?"

There was another paused. "I..." he started. His phone bleeped from his pocket and he bought it out to read the text. I'm still here, Percy. You know what I want you to say. -Anon. He looked around wildly for the sender, but there were few people on the street and none of them had a phone in hand. "I cheated because I had feelings for Camille," he said. "And… I thought I could get away with it. I'm not the same person I was when I started college."

She just nodded, like she expected it. "Thank you for being honest with me," she said. "And to answer your question: You have lost me forever." She turned on her heel and walked away from him, leaving him alone as night fell so he could dwell in his own thoughts.

Meanwhile, in a café near them, a hand swirled an Espresso as another put the phone back into his jacket pocket. He watched Reyna walk away from Percy out of the window. Another window near him was open so he could hear everything that was going on. The perfect drama. Surreal. Almost like a story.

-0-0-0-0-0-

 _Reanna had no one. Sure, she was popular, she was loved. But not really. Those people only wanted her for her popularity. Her parents spent almost all of their time away, she had one older sister, but Haley lived all the way in Chicago. Her friends were only ever pretending, and they were a constant reminder of her loneliness. Sure, Reanna spent her time convincing herself that she was okay being alone, but she made sure she stayed popular, putting so much effort into her social status. Because at the end of the day, it was better to be alone surrounded by people, than being alone all by yourself._

* * *

Reyna read that last line and paused. It was 2 in the morning and she sat crossed-legged on her bed, flipping the page of Michael's book. At least he got one thing right. After Jason went missing years ago, she honestly felt that way most of the time. All of the time. It was the only part of the book she could really, honestly relate to. Of course, instead of being popular, she ran Rome.

Maybe it was that paragraph, or maybe it was her argument with Percy. But she just felt utterly depressed. Of course, that all disappeared when she heard a knock on her door. She opened it to see Jason, arms full of junk food, and even a bag of Doritos hanging between his teeth. She smiled genuinely at the sight of him.

She invited him in and they sat on her bed, eating food and talking until the sun came up. They covered every topic they could think of. Including memories.

"Do you remember that time the air vent couldn't close?" Reyna said, laughing. "And everybody said there was a rat in there?"

Jason rolled his eyes. "Reyna, you've repeated this story a billion times."

"And you saw it and screamed," she laughed, remembering how he threw chairs out of his way to get away from the rat.

"A billion and one!" he exclaimed.

"And it was just an empty packet of chips?" she laughed, clutching her ribs slightly.

Jason sucked his teeth, trying not to remember everyone's hysterics when they saw him screaming and running away from an empty packet. He decided to retaliate. "Remember our first Senate Meeting as praetors?" he asked. "And you walked in, trying to be all strong and mighty. And you slipped on the freshly mopped floor?"

"That wasn't funny," she said, her face suddenly serious as she pointed at him. "There used to be a sign there. 'Caution – Wet Floor'." She looked at Jason and nodded. "It used to really tell people what was going on."

They moved onto the origin of the phrase 'stood out like a sore thumb'. "I mean, you never actually see a thumb and think: Damn, that looks sore," Reyna was saying, her mouth full of marshmallows.

Jason just studied her. "You have too many thoughts."

Then they talked about being praetors and Jason came up with a hypothetical plot to take the reign back. "Ooh, I think I'm having a thought," he said, when he came up with it. "Yeah, that's definitely a thought. Oh, now I think I'm having a plan!"

They fell asleep eventually, after the sun had come up. When they woke up they were tangled in each other's arms.

* * *

 **A/N: Hello my friends. This chapter was pretty much just Reyna-focused which is always fun to write. If you haven't guessed, the passages in italics are pages from Michael's book.**

 **Now, in response to one particular review... I don't actually ship Solangelo (DON'T SHOOT!). I have nothing against the ship/shippers. I just never actually finished reading Blood of Olympus. It kind of bored me and I started trailing off whilst reading it, although I got the general gist of what happened thanks to tumblr. Now, I love Nico, he's one of my faves. But I think it's kind of important to remember that he was 13 in the books and really didn't need a love interest. Idk I never really got on board with the whole Solangelo thingy. I do intend to start including Nico more often (starting from next chapter) and I will probably mention Will, but I doubt I could ever write something with them as a major theme. Sorry.**

 **Thank you for all supportive reviews. You guys are my inspiration for this story. Seriously. So please write something before you go, I will love you forever.**

 **Next chapter Reyna and Annabeth find out the truth about what happened with Percy and Camille and _-Anon_ is revealed. -Izzy**


	25. Chapter 25

**CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE:** _A Person of Interest_

 _Flashback (Chapter 14)_

 _"It's not a date," she said, smiling. She thought about Michael's smile. He usually smiled, unless he was concentrating. He only really concentrated on his book, which she had watched him write before. He had her over, claiming she was inspiration. "I mean, so what if it was?" she asked, running her hand through her hair. Which was hard, since it was in a ponytail._

 _"So it is?" he asked. His tone went from joking to serious, really quick. Her eyebrows bunched together as she studied his facial expression. When he thought it wasn't a date, he was happy. When he thought it was a date, he wasn't._

 _"What's your objection?" she asked. He paused. There was really only one reason he didn't want her to go on that date and he knew he shouldn't tell her. He didn't have that right. She was happy without him; he shouldn't tell her. She looked expectant, as if she knew the answer before he said it. She was really well with facial expressions. Not only did she know the answer, however, she wanted it. She wanted to hear him say it. He wondered, if he did say it, if he told her the truth, would she cancel the date?_

-0-0-0-0-0-

Jason smiled at the familiar Skype ringtone, minimizing his essay and answering, seeing a Nerf Gun immediately pointed at him on his screen. There came some fake shootings and some bad sound-effects before Percy moved the gun out of the way. "Are you dead?" he asked.

Jason was playing dead on his desk. "Yes," he mumbled.

"Good," Percy nodded. "I'm too Satanic to have conversations with the living."

"What?" Jason smirked.

Percy raised an eyebrow and looked confused. "What do you mean what?"

"I mean what?" Jason said. "You know what."

Percy laughed. "What what?"

Jason pulled himself up and smirked, rolling his eyes as he got to the point. "What do you want to conversate about? Conversate…? Is that a word? Convers. What do you want to convers about?"

Percy yawned slightly and checked his watch. "I want to talk about Reyna," he said. "She seems to be under the impression that she's still single. Why is that, Jason?" Jason just sniggered as he checked his own watch. It was nearing midnight, yet both of them were still up working.

"Maybe it's because she is still single," Jason shrugged, innocently. "Look, I told you I wanted it to be special, I know it might take a while…" he trailed off, but Percy started speaking right away, almost like an interruption.

"It's been two months since that talk," he exclaimed. "She can't still be hung up about Michael. Especially after what he wrote about her in that book. Honestly, I thought he was a pretty good guy. Have you read that book yet?"

Jason shook his head. "I've read passages about how he portrays Reyna and Annabeth. But I haven't had time to read the whole thing. Is it any good? What's my character like?"

Percy paused, sucking his teeth. "Well, um… I think he is represented rather… um, insignificantly."

Jason raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

There was another pause. "Well the whole books bullshit on how Reyna's pretty much, well, a slut. Which is completely unfair, and slut-shaming and gross. But Michael's a dick now apparently. So anyway, the point of your character is to obey the quote 'Nice Guys Finish Last'. Michael, or Mitchell, is seen as the nice guy. You're the bland, boring douche she leaves him for, because you have a rich father."

"Oh," Jason said, his face falling. "Yeah, Michael is being a douche."

"You don't even look like yourself," Percy said. "Brown eyes and hair, kind of pale. No face scar."

"What's my name in it?" Jason asked. "Like, Jay? Jack?"

"Ryan," Percy answered. "Anyway, back onto the conversation of Reyna." Jason didn't reply immediately and Percy sighed, as if talking to a brick wall. "Do you have any plans on asking her out?"

"I think I missed my chance," Jason said. "Just before she asked out Michael she asked for my objection. I think she would have listened to my answer. She asked me one simple question. All I had to do was tell her the truth."

"You know it's not too late," Percy mused. "So, just a general question… do you feel the same way about Reyna as you did about Piper? That way you know it's love, you know?"

Jason paused, rolling the answer on the tip of his tongue. "You're right. Piper was my first love. And what we had was true love. But I think, this thing with Reyna, might turn into something even better." There was a pause as Percy nodded approvingly. "On a complete change of subject," Jason said. "You might want to consider being nicer to Michael."

"Why?" Percy asked, his eyebrows scrunching up.

Jason shrugged. "I know more than one nice guy who's made horrible decisions."

Another pause. "I will always regret what I did to Annabeth," he said. "I never stopped loving her and I never will. I mean… what if Annabeth was the one?"

"She was," Jason answered.

Percy nodded, casually. "Not very supportive, Jason."

"I don't know what you want me to say," he said, completely honestly. He was just trying to ignore the e-mail signal on the corner of the screen. A tutor of his breathing down his neck.

"You don't have to say anything," Percy said, smiling faintly. "Look, I have to go. But thank you."

Now Jason scrunched up his eyebrows. "For what?"

Percy shrugged. "You forgave me. Nobody else has. You have done so much for me, Jason. So thank you." Jason paused, wondering if that was something worthy of being thankful for. After everything he and Percy went through, being there for him was in his nature. He wasn't going to give up on Percy for making a massive mistake during college. Most people did.

"Any time," Jason said.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Well, don't you look peachy," Nico said. He stood at the threshold of the double doors of Reyna's bedroom, looking in on her. She lay down on her back in a small mound of pillows, headphones in as she stared at the ceiling. She turned to him and smiled weakly as he leaned against the doorframe.

"So they're finally letting the trash in," she smirked, sitting up and pulling her headphones out. She wore a grey tank top and leggings and her hair was in a very messy bun.

"Something like that," he said, walking in and sitting at the end of the bed. "What's with the mess of pillows? Did you build a nest?" She laughed as she paused her music and neatly placed her iPod and headphones on her bedside table.

"Something like that," she mimicked. "I read somewhere that making a next out of pillows, duvets and blankets can improve one's mood. I may have googled sadness cures. Long story short: I'm grumpy."

"I know," he said. "I read Michael's book."

"Ah," she nodded, smiling slightly. "And now you know the truth about the evil slut you call family. Spoiler Alert: I'm a bitch."

"You are a bitch," he said. "But that's why I call you family."

She smiled and leaned forward to hug him. He hugged back and they stayed there for a minute. He had grown. He was nearing sixteen now, and was taller than her. Still skinny, still pale, still dressed in dark clothes and still very much Nico. No matter how much her life changed, she hoped Nico never would.

"Did you like it?" she asked, as they pulled away. "The book I mean."

He nodded. "Oh I loved it," he said, sarcastically. "Especially the chapter where Reanna and Nick have dinner with Nick's parents." She narrowed her eyes. They met Nick in Chapter Twelve, and Reyna had guessed he was an adaptation of Nico. Now, she must have been right.

"I don't think I've gotten to that bit yet," she said, picking up her copy of the book and flicking to her book mark on Chapter 13.

"You out me," he said, matter-of-factly shrugging. "My very conservative, stuck-up parents are complaining about how _'they're not homophobic, they just don't think marriage is for people who choose to be gay'_. Then you tell them I'm gay."

"You're hypothetical, conservative, stuck-up parents deserved to know," Reyna defended, sarcastically. Nico just laughed. "Honestly, I didn't expect much better from this high-school, preppy version of me."

"You're my sister, Reyna," he said. "Not one of them."

She paused for a little before smiling weakly at him. She reached up and fiddled with a strand of his hair before shaking her head in exasperation. "You needed a hair-cut months ago," she said. She had a lot of hair knowledge from her time at Circe's Spa and Resort, so she could probably do it for him.

He slapped her hand away as he rolled his eyes. "You sound like Hazel," he huffed.

"Is that supposed to be an insult?" she asked. "Hazel happens to be one of my favourite people."

He grinned. "Yeah, mine too. Michael is not." He leaned in and kissed her cheek before wrapping his arms around her again. "Don't worry too much about that book, Rey," he said as she hugged him back. "It's full of lies."

-0-0-0-0-0-

"I think you should write a sequel."

The next morning Michael had a meeting with his publicist, who called him in for a cup of coffee so they could discuss the further development of his novel. Michael was expecting to sign more deals for different bookstores and libraries, or an illustrator who wanted to redesign the book cover. He was not expecting talk of a sequel. He had never had plans for a sequel, and quite genuinely, the word never crossed his mind.

"I'm sorry, what?" he asked, leaning in. He wore blazers more often than not recently, and often with skinny-jeans and a button-down. He put his take-away espresso on the coffee table as he blinked at Andrew, his new agent.

Andrew Blake had joined the legion at the age of 5, one of the youngest ever. He was claimed as the son of Mars but had always been more interested in literature than war. However, Michael couldn't help but admire the combat-like approaches he had to the publishing game. Like the bookstores were a battleground and he was made to lead his soldiers to victory. He left the legion at only 15 and was one of the youngest college students they had ever seen. Now, at the age of only 19, younger than Michael, he had taken the game by storm.

"A sequel," Andrew said. "It's a book written after another, that takes place after the other does, and is a continuation of the character's lives-"

"I know what a sequel is," Michael said. "I'm not an idiot. But I never intended to write one."

Andrew shrugged. "Plans change, my friend," he mused, chucking a tennis ball at the wall aimlessly. His office was pretty cool. Leather couches, beige walls, a grand desk. Even his own water cooler and book shelf.

Michael paused. "I think I ended my story in a really solid place," Michael said. "Honestly, there's not really a place it can continue."

"I disagree," Andrew sighed. "I read the thing, over and over and over and over. I came up with five different plotlines already, you just need to put them to paper. 1) Perry tries to wiggle his way back into Annabelle's life and goes on an epic journey of redemption to become a decent person. 2) Reanna and Annabelle split it, possibly due to Annabelle refusing to take Reanna's shit. They both grow independently apart. 3) Reanna comes crawling back to Mitchell saying that he makes her a better person and focus on her character devel-"

"Stop, stop," Michael said. "There isn't going to be a sequel."

"Oh, there is," Andrew said. "Your story is a New Rome Bestseller. Fans can't get enough and it's made more money for us than anything else. A sequel is definitely in order."

"But-"

"But nothing," Andrew interrupted. "4) Nick gets a love interest and becomes more comfortable in himself and sexuality. 5) Annabelle and Mitchell friendship."

"You're missing the entire plot of the book," Michael said. "Your plotlines make no sense! Reanna wouldn't be the one crawling back to Mitchell, he would be the one crawling back to her, as he turns out to be the bad guy in the end. And Nick doesn't need a love interest. He became comfortable with himself in Chapter 22!"

Andrew leaned in and sighed. "Kahale, you are not the bad guy, okay? You did what you had to do to be an incredible author and you created something amazing. You shouldn't be ashamed of that."

"I know," Michael said. "And I'm not. I'm okay with what I did, but that doesn't mean I'll do it again."

"No, you want to focus on getting Reanna back," Andrew smirked. "Or Reyna, take your pick. Look, Michael. Do you want to win?!" He paused, glaring at him. His voice softened when he said: "Or do you just want Reyna?"

Then Michael paused, looking at the corner of his eye as he thought. He knew what he wanted to say, it was stringing it into a sentence that was the problem. "There is no winning without Reyna."

"Take it from me," Andrew sighed, leaning back and rubbing his temples. "We're the same, you and I. And people like Reyna are never going to choose people like us. They're going to choose the guys who have the most power. The underserving douche bags. Bad people."

"Well maybe the trick is to become an underserving douche bag," Michael shrugged. "A bad person. It's worth a shot. And I'm already there."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Reyna had many skills. One of which was reading whilst walking. Well, Annabeth had to keep guiding her away from walls, but overall, she was pretty good at not falling over. What she wasn't good at was noticing the obvious when it started her right in the face.

 _"It was everything we wanted," Perry whispered. "The jokes, the smiles, the kisses, the story. Our love story. Annabelle, it still felt… amazing. The way we would plan our future, talk about marriage and kids. But it was a future we never could have. Because we just weren't meant to be. I loved you. But one day, I started talking to someone else and it just… ended."_

She read that quote over and over and couldn't quite believe it. She had heard that exact line, standing out in the rain next to Jason, watching Annabeth cry as Percy told her what he did. The night he got shot he said exactly that to Annabeth.

"Look," Annabeth said. She walked with a folder in her hand, completely oblivious to Reyna's reading. In the folder was a picture of their apartment and Annabeth was holding up different colours to the walls. They were planning on repainting. "It's perfect," she added, holding up a shade of sunset orange and looking at Reyna for approval.

"I don't know," she mused, tearing her eyes from the book. She held up a different colour, a teal. "I'm still thinking a shade of blue."

"You're impossible," Annabeth said as Reyna turned back to her book.

 _"You were," she mused, still looking away from him, "supposed to be better than this."_

 _"I was," he said, simply. There was another, really long pause. "Look, Carrie-"_

 _"DON'T!" Annabelle exclaimed at the top of her lungs. The anger had kicked in. She glared at him, growling slightly and Perry wouldn't have been surprised if she was seeing red. She screeched the word, but what she said afterwards was dangerously calm. "Don't say her name to me. Or anything else ever again."_

That couldn't have been a coincidence. The girls were walking into a building filled with lecture halls for the art class they took together. But as soon as the door closed behind them, the entire corridor went quiet. Reyna looked up to see every pupil staring at her. Most of them seemed to have a copy of Michael's book.

Great. So they figured out Reanna was Reyna, and now thought she was a manipulative slut. Maybe they were wondering about her old Reign over New Rome. Whether or not she manipulated and blackmailed her way into power like Reanna did at her high school.

Annabeth was looking at Reyna, worried about her reaction to everyone staring at her. The reaction she got was a light hair flip, a high chin and pushed back shoulders. She strutted through the hallway like she owned it, ignoring everyone's whispers and glances. She was rewarded with a proud look from Annabeth.

They walked into the art room, despite being early and took places in their usual corners, setting up their stalls and paint stands. It was a big room with loads on natural light and space.

"You look upset," Annabeth said. "Look, don't worry about those people outside. They don't know what they're talking about."

Reyna just cocked her head at the blonde. "Don't you know me better than that? I don't care what people have to say about me."

"Oh Gods, it's someone else who's making you mad," Annabeth said. "Who's funeral are we going to be causing?"

Before Reyna could answer the door burst open and Camille ran in. She looked like her usual self. Pencil skirt, heels, blouse, perfectly curled black hair. Which was odd, since she hadn't dressed like her usual self since she found Jesus. Annabeth and Reyna immediately got to their feet, not having seen her since… well since Percy kissed her.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Annabeth demanded. "You're not doing this course."

"I came here to talk to you," she scowled, strutting closer to them.

"Well you must be a lot braver than you look," Annabeth said. Reyna raised her hand to lead Annabeth away before a fight broke out but Camille reached out and grabbed Reyna's wrist with surprising strength. "Hey!" Annabeth exclaimed, stepping in. "Easy with the violence, Cami-" she said, going to grab Camille's wrist, but Cami grabbed Annabeth's first.

"Neither of you are going anywhere before I talk," Camille said.

There was a pause as Annabeth narrowed her eyes. "You're not a people person, are you?"

Cami just rolled her eyes. "Look, I don't have a lot of time. I have stuff to do, so I'll make this quick. Percy only kissed me because he was blackmailed."

Annabeth just blinked. "What?" she asked, disbelieving.

"I can't explain," Camille said. "I wanted to tell you sooner but the blackmailers had me under close surveillance. So I can't tell you who they are. You just have to trust me on this one."

"Trust?" Reyna scoffed. "Don't use a big word you don't understand, Camille." She tried to ignore the fact that her grip on her wrist actually kind of hurt. "Now let us go and leave, or I swear you'll regret it."

"Did I just hear a threat?" Camille asked, laughing.

"Would you like to?" Reyna growled. Camille's face fell.

"I'm done here anyway," Camille said. "Believe me or don't, it's not my problem, but at least I did the right thing." She let go of their wrists and stormed out, high-heels clicking on her way out.

Annabeth shook her head in disapproval. "She just has to rub it in, doesn't she?" She turned to Reyna, who looked very conflicted. "Rey, you don't actually believe her, do you? You can't believe anything she says! I mean, when the bitch breathes, the air comes out crooked!"

She moved back over to sit in her stool, looking distracted. Reyna didn't pay her much attention; she was staring at her copy of Michael's book. "Well, she bruised me," Annabeth sighed, showing Reyna the beginning of a light bruise forming on her wrist.

"Yeah," Reyna said, absent-mindedly checking her own wrist. "Me too."

There was a pause. "Okay, Reyna. What is up with you?"

Reyna just opened her copy of the book at the page where she left it and showed Annabeth. "You and Percy's break up, word for word, to the exact detail. Annabeth, Michael couldn't have made this more obvious. I don't think Camille's lying."

* * *

 **A/N: HHHEEEYYY! So I'm thinking about making Nico a more frequent character, give him a plotline of his own, you know? I have one in mind but it pretty much is based around an OwnCharacter love interest.** **He'd be around 16 in this story, nearing 17 at the youngest.**

 **So what did you guys think? Any Percabeth feels right now? Jeyna feels? Michael/Reyna defence Squad? Hate? Leave a review, it's all good.**

 **In response to reviews: No, I will not tone down the drama. In case you forgot who I am, my name is Satan! Okay I'm actually kidding here. They're in their third year, and this is going to be the last fully dramatic year. I have a very fluffy dilemma for their fourth year just to make more smiles.**

 **Irwin2000: I love reading your reviews. You are far too kind to me, ily. 'and beyond'... I'm planning 0 sequels, this thing is going to be pretty long as it is, but I was thinking about a series of one-shots in place of a sequel.**

 **And everyone else who reviewed: Thank you all so much for leaving feedback, even if I don't thank you directly I read and love every review, so thank you.**

 **(Please review) -Izzy**


	26. Chapter 26

**CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX:** _Say Something_

Usually, people around Camp Jupiter knew that his Reyna balled up her fists, you better run. Someone was about to get punched. Someone was about to get hurt. Reyna only ever balled her fists up in anger if she was could to break her knuckles. Otherwise, she was usually calm when angry. So when she pounded on Michael's front door with her fists, he almost didn't open it.

"Knocking usually works," he said, swinging the door open and looking down at her.

"So does violence," she said, barging into his flat and slamming his own book down on his dining table. She flicked to the right page, Perry and Annabelle's break up scene. She pointed to the words and yelled at him to explain.

He just shrugged. "I was there," he said. Something on the kitchen counter caught her eye and she almost gulped.

"My old phone," she said, picking it up. He tried to stop her but it didn't work. "The one Annabeth got a text from telling her to meet her. That night."

"It's complicated," Michael said, trying to snatch the phone from him.

"Game of Thrones is complicated," she said. "Relationships, those can be complicated. You stealing my phone, that isn't complicated." She sighed, shoving the phone in her bag next to her new one. "So let me tell you what I know. Annabeth goes to meet Percy so they can fix their relationship. While she's waiting, you text her to leave her post. Whatever happens next you use to blackmail Percy into kissing Camille. Did I get it right?"

Michael's face fell and his eyes widened. That was answer enough for her. "Camille told you," he guessed. "She's such a bitch."

"Not as much as you, it appears," Reyna said. "So tell me. What did you blackmail Percy with?"

"Well I can't tell you that," he said. "You might be recording me."

Her eyes widened and she scoffed. "Seriously? You are such a hypocrite, Michael. Okay, fine. At least tell me how you know exactly what Percy and Annabeth said to each other that night. Where were you? In the bushes?"

He shrugged. "Yes. When Annabeth ran off to meet you, I filmed something and sent it to Percy, who was in the library, as blackmail. Soon after, you, Jason and Percy arrived and I couldn't well leave."

That was too easy. Making him confess was far too easy. "Why are you telling me?" she asked. "Why aren't you even trying to deny it?"

"Because what's the point?" he asked. "You already know. There's no point in trying to hide it now. Besides, I don't feel bad." He walked closer to her. "This is my full confession, Reyna: I blackmailed Percy into cheating on Annabeth, and then I blackmailed him into admitting to it. Him getting shot, him leaving for Spain, I had nothing to do with that."

"Why?" she exclaimed. "Honestly, Michael! What was the point?"

He shrugged again. "My story, obviously," he said. "I wanted Perry to cheat, but I had, honest to the Gods, no idea how Annabelle would react. So I made it a reality. I recorded it and wrote it up as a chapter."

"And you're not even the least bit sorry?" she asked.

He paused, looking her in the eye with a completely blank face. "No," he said. "No, I'm not sorry. I want to be one of those writers who will do anything for a good story. One of the reasons why I even went out with you."

Her eyes widened. "So all of that, our entire relationship… was a lie?"

Then he looked confused before shaking his head. "No! No, of course not. That's ridiculous. I have done some truly horrible things, and I honestly doubt I have morals. But I swear, I have never once lied to you about how I feel about you."

"No," she whispered, taking a step away from him. She was really just trying not to punch him. "No, you said you loved me, Michael. You couldn't say these things about me if you loved me!"

"No, I did love you," he said. "I always have. Don't doubt that, Reyna."

"Well I'm sorry if I don't fall for that," she said, crossing her arms. "Or you, ever again. Michael, you were supposed to be different."

"I was," he said. "Trust me, I was. But whilst I was writing 'Rosefield Wasn't Built in a Day' I realised that you can't make your way in this city by being different. Everyone here is manipulative and mean. But they are like that for a reason; it is the only way you can survive in New Rome. I was different. But it got me nowhere, so now I'm the same."

She paused before her fist flew in the air and right across his cheek. Surprisingly, she didn't rip her knuckles, but his face went red and he staggered backwards. She hoped she bruised him. She walked towards the door of his apartment and he called after her: "You'll regret that."

"I promise I won't," she called over her shoulder. "Although I do regret cracking my nail. See?" She showed him her finger – only one, and not the nice one – over her shoulder on the way out.

She stormed back to their apartment and paced around for a little bit before opening the top shelf. Annabeth had a bottle of wine in there and Reyna screwed off the lid before drinking straight from the bottle. She thought about everything she had done over the past few months. She had exiled Percy from her life, told him he lost her forever. She took Annabeth to Paris and tried to get her to move on. She remembered that night when Jason held her back as she tried to punch Percy. She called him a coward, told him she didn't want to be his friend anymore. After he got blackmailed, shot, exiled, and when he needed someone she turned him away.

She wondered if that made her the bad guy.

Honestly, though, after Michael's betrayal, she was just glad Percy was still the same. Loyal, kind, caring Percy. He had never changed.

"Reyna!" She turned to the front door to see Jason closing it behind him. She put the wine down and smiled when she saw him. "I heard about Michael, and Percy and everything. Annabeth's talking to Percy now."

He walked towards her and without any agreement or forethought, they held their arms out and embraced. It was an instinct when it came to them. They saw the other was upset and they immediately hugged. "I punched him in the face," she said, casually.

"I'm thinking about doing the same," he sighed as the pulled apart.

"I better go and find Annabeth," Reyna said. "Make sure she's okay."

"She's got Percy now," Jason said. "Give them some time." Reyna just nodded and stayed still looking slightly awkward. "Are you avoiding me?" Jason asked, completely shamelessly. "I mean; we've hardly spoke since we woke up in bed together…"

"I know, I know," she said, sighing. She ran and hand through his hair and bit her lip. "I haven't been avoiding you… I've been trying to figure out what the hell to say! I mean, I…" she trailed off and paused. "I don't know what I'm supposed to say."

"Can we talk?" he asked. They moved over to the couch, sitting next to each other at a slight angle so they could talk to each other. Reyna fiddled with her thumbs and Jason paused. "I'm sorry," he said. "I feel like I've been making this… thing between us all about me, and that's been pretty selfish of me."

She laughed at that. Way to lighten the mood. "Jason, you haven't done anything selfish in a long time," she said. "You gave me up to be with Michael, you didn't complain when I dated him. You let me be happy, and that's pretty low on the selfish scale." There was another pause as she reached up to rest her hand on his shoulder. "It is selfish, however, to date somebody when you know somebody else likes you, and know that you like them."

He looked confused then. "What do you mean?"

She paused before reaching down to get something out of her bag. "I found this yesterday, and it made me rethink a lot of things." She pulled out a piece of paper from an old notebook. It was dusty and old. Years old. She had found it in a box of some of her old praetor things. "Do you remember when, before the Titan War, when we were little, you had a very faint memory of Thalia?" He nodded. "You used to write her letters all the time, little things, so when you met, you can show her. Almost like she was never gone."

"What about them?" he asked.

She unfolded the piece of paper. "I wrote this to you when you went missing years ago," she said. Then she coughed to clear her throat before reading:

 _"Dear Jason,_

 _I don't even know why I'm doing this. It's stupid. You're never going to read this. But I saw you write these to your sister and they made you feel better..."_ She trailed off a little bit here and composed herself. _"…and I want to feel better._

 _My world is falling apart. And you're the only one who would understand. Nobody tells you how hard being a praetor is. If they did, I never would have taken the job. I never sleep anymore; I barely even have time to eat or drink."_ When she spoke next, her voice sounded like she was getting just the tiniest bit emotional, the memory of how lonely she was, and how hard her job was, eating away at her.

 _"I feel like screaming because I have nobody to talk to. Hylla's in Chicago, Gwen and Dakota are usually out with Bobby looking for you because… you're missing."_ She seemed determined not to look in his eyes, staring at the piece of paper.

 _"Where are you? Why don't you call? Why did you leave without saying goodbye? You're supposed to be my best friend. I miss you so much. Love Reyna."_

Jason paused after hearing it, wanting nothing more than to go back in time and punch himself in the face. "Why didn't you show me the letter?" he asked. "When we were reunited, why didn't you show me? I would've-"

"You would've what?" she demanded. "You knew, Jason. You knew what you were doing and you did it anyway. Don't bother apologizing. I chose to forgive you a long time ago. And I stand by that choice. I'm not still mad."

"Then why are you telling me this?" he whispered, softly.

"Because," she shrugged. "I was in pain. And I need you to understand that I was in pain, and why I was in pain, so you can understand what I'm about to tell you."

"And that is…"

"When I started dating Michael, I knew about your feelings for me," she said, honestly after taking a deep breath. "And I also knew that I had feelings for you. I also had feelings for Michael, but I wouldn't have pursued them if… if my subconscious wasn't telling me to punish you for neglecting me."

There was a pause until she took another, even deeper breath and sighed before forcing a very sarcastic smile. "I wanted to punish you. It wasn't why I dated Michael, I dated him because I had feelings for him. But I still wanted to punish you, even after I forgave you." There was a pause. "Do you hate me?"

He looked confused before moving to sit closer to her. "No, of course I don't hate you," he said. "Reyna I don't understand why you feel so guilty about this. I ignored you for months, you developed feelings for someone else. You dated him. I didn't deserve for you to give him up for me."

She shook her head before speaking clearly and confidently. "I made a list," she said. "Of all the things I've done since I fell for you. I dated Michael despite your feelings for me. I dated Michael despite my feelings for you. I hated you for ignoring me when I said I was over it. I forgave you, honestly, but still wanted to punish you. I… fell in love with somebody else. I kissed you on top of a Ferris Wheel when I was with somebody else. I know what I was doing. And in the process, I became something I didn't want to be."

There was a pause. "I became Reanna. And the old Reyna wouldn't forgive me. She would slap me and ask what the hell I'm doing! I'm letting emotion rule my head and I don't want to do that, Jason. And I hate the way that this has made me feel!"

"I feel the same way when I'm with you," he said, interrupted her before she could continue on her ramble of insecurity. "Reyna, I say this with all the love in my heart: You're a complete and utter control freak! And since we fell for each other, you've been a control freak who's lost control. And that's what falling for somebody is. It's giving up control."

She thought about Michael's book, how much he hated her, how everyone in the college seemed to think of her as some kind of slut, who played with hearts for entertainment. How she let her feelings rule her judgement and how she hated that more than anything in the world. She thought about everything that happened with Percy, how people who made the right choices got bad fortune.

"Jason, control is all I have," she sighed, looking vaguely sad. "And I'm not ready to give that up yet." She leaned forward to kiss his cheek before getting up to go and find Annabeth.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Annabeth and sat on the steps near the church, watching the lecture halls below. It was evening and she waited until she saw Percy come out of the building. He began to walk up the stairs and he didn't notice her until he was hallway up. He continued his way up until he reached her. "I'm sure there's a million people you'd rather run into right now."

She shrugged. "Couple thousand at most."

He sat down next to her and sighed. "I've been meaning to talk to you. But I don't know what I'm supposed to say. I don't know what I should say except… thank you."

She paused, running her hand through her hair. "What are you thanking me for?"

"The relationship we once had," he sighed. "It was real and… it was everything that we wanted. So thank you."

"I know, Percy," she said. "I know about the blackmail, I know you didn't want to kiss Camille and I know who did it. It was Michael, by the way. I also wanted to apologise." Percy looked too stunned to speak, so she continued instead. "About Camille. She told me the truth for once, so… I'm starting to believe she really is different. So I'm sorry for giving you crap about bringing her home."

Percy still looked stunned. His green eyes lifted to look into her grey ones and was surprised when he saw she was almost tearing up. "You know," he stated, still in disbelief. Annabeth nodded.

"Reyna just texted me about the blackmail bit," she said. "She punched Michael in the face. What did he blackmail you with?"

There was a pause before he explained the video with the drugs. "I saw how much it hurt you last time and I didn't want to do that to you again."

"So you made me think you cheated on me?" she exclaimed. "Because that's so much better. And then you went and got shot. Gods, Percy you are such an idiot." He went to speak but she interrupted him. "I understand why you did what you did," she said. Her bottom lip began to wobble and she really teared up. So did Percy. "But if I saw you hurting," she choked, "the way I know you saw me…" she trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"Annabeth, I'm so sorry," he breathed. "I didn't tell you everything because I was afraid of hurting you."

"I was already hurt," she said, shakily. "I thought we were supposed to grow up. Start a family, decide whether or not we wanted to have kids. We were supposed to have a lifetime of these choices to make together and I thought that was all gone."

"It doesn't have to be," he said. He took her hand in both of his, despite the fact that they were freezing. He looked desperate, but with a faint glimmer of hope on his face. "It doesn't have to be gone! You know the truth now, you know!"

"I know," she nodded. "But I also know that I convinced myself to hate you. I also know that I told you I didn't love you anymore. I also know that I'm never going to be able to look at this relationship the same again, that it's never going to be how it used to be. Everything's changed, and we can't just go back to normal!"

"It can!"

"No, Percy, it can't!" she sobbed. "You were going to propose. You had an engagement ring. How are we supposed to start fresh now? We can't just pick up where we left off! I'm not ready to do that. I'm not ready to pretend that none of this happened."

He just looked at her, sadly. "When you told me you didn't love me anymore," he said, "it was pretty much the worst thing I think I've heard in a long time."

She rolled her eyes. "We both know I never really meant it." There was another pause. "We broke up in the rain," she said. "You let me believe you cheated on me. My heart broke. I screamed at you never to say anything to me ever again. You went missing and then I thought you were dead. You were going to propose. How do you go back to the way things were after that?"

There was another pause. "I think," he whispered, "the best way to get back to the way things were, is to take some time apart. To recover from the damage this whole thing caused each of us. And then, when we recover – and we will recover – we can try and build our relationship back up again."

"So that doesn't mean that it's over?" she asked, choking back tears as she looked up at him.

He shook his head. "No, what we had was real. And it was true love, and that's worth fighting for. So we will, but first we need to re-arm."

"That sounds so perfect," she smiled. The sky was getting darker and darker around them, and colder and colder. It was mid-January when they spoke so they were both really cold. "We'll recover and then fight," she whispered as they sat closer together for warmth. She leaned her head on his shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her.

"For the record, I want it too," he said.

"Want what?" she asked.

"A future for the both of us," he said, leaning his cheek on the top of her head. "If it were my choice, I'd want to be with you forever. Grow old together, start a family together, live our lives together. I want it all, Annabeth."

She smirked. "Maybe," she sighed. "Hopefully it's still a possibility."

"But the life we had together," he continued, as if she hadn't spoken, "that was pretty perfect all by itself. I mean, we had our ups and downs, we fought. We fell in love without even realising it." They both seemed to remember the same things. When she told him he drooled in his sleep, when the sat in the Tunnel-o-Love ride, when they rode through the Sea of Monsters, when they climbed that mountain together, when they got their grey streaks. When they flew home on Pegasi together, gliding over the horizon as the sun came up.

That time his mother convinced him that he was going on a date with Annabeth and he tried to deny it. When they kissed in the volcano and when she thought he was dead the first time. They fought back to back, and Percy wanted to scream when she got stabbed by that knife. He remembered sitting by her as she healed. He remembered the Vespa through New York. She remembered the blue cupcake by the ocean. They remembered the kiss in the lake.

He remembered their date in Paris, and the time he showed up at her Dad's house with flowers. He remembered dancing with her and laughing with her. They refused to remember Tartarus, but they remembered falling asleep in the stables, the Pizza in Rome. It all flashed in front of them like their little love story. They made it out of Tartarus. They could make it through this. They just needed time to heal.

"Maybe instead of describing how much we meant to each other," she whispered, "we can start fresh. As friends?"

"Okay," he whispered back.

The dark sky started to snow around them, very lightly at first. Percy remembered their snowball fight in New York only two Christmases ago. "As long as you understand something."

He turned to her and she looked up at him from where her head rested on his shoulder. "And what's that?" she asked.

"I will always love you, Annabeth," he promised her.

She nodded, smiling. "I will always love you, too."

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, so initially I thought about getting them back together immediately but that didn't feel right. They went through a lot of shit over the past year, and it didn't seem right to discard their pain and stick them back together straight away. So Percy and Annabeth are going to take some time to heal, Annabeth's going to come to terms with everything that's happened and then they'll start over.**

 **As for Jeyna... well Reyna's super scared of emotion that can rule her judgement, and what she feels for Jason is so strong that she can't get into it straight away. Ah, Jeyna and Percabeth angst in one chapter. Silly me.**

 **And last chapter we hit a record for most reviews in one chapter with 8! The old record was 6. So I'm going to respond the them right now:**

 **This is going to be about 40 chapters. Ten chapters for each year, four years. The last year has a dilemma and has minor drama at the beginning, but overall it's pretty fluffy and hopefully funny. This is my apology for all of the drama I have caused and all of the angst. You're welcome. Percabeth will get back together in time, they're just going to take some time to... get over everything that happened, so their relationship is not further affected by it. I am going to try Nico with an OC, but if I stray in the wrong direction with it, please let me know. Percabeth are on the road to recovery, but they're pretty broken so it's a long af road. Michael is a jerk, and Annabeth gets to talk to him next chapter which will be very fun to write.**

 **In terms of sequels, I've been considering a short series of one-shots (I will take requests if I do it) but it will not continue as another multi-chaptered story. Asteria Daughter of Koios: My updates never take long this is my favourite thing to write ever. You're not a bad person and Jeyna has something really special coming up. TEAM NICO ALL THE WAY - I hope you find the OC I'm planning interesting. Annabeth kicks ass next chapter.**

 **WHEW that was longer than I hoped for it to be. Sorry about that. Please review! -Izzy**


	27. Chapter 27

**CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN:** _The Worst of Them All_

Reyna knocked softly on the door of Annabeth's bedroom. "Knock, knock," she smiled, entering. Since they found out about Percy's loyalty, and Michael's frame, he had moved into their apartment, sharing Jason's room. Him and Annabeth weren't there yet.

"Go away," Annabeth grumbled from under her sheets.

Reyna rolled her eyes and tried to pull them away from her. "We have to get on the bus by 10," she reminded her. Annabeth kept the sheets over her head, clinging to the last remains of her peaceful sleep. "Are you going to stay in there forever?" Reyna asked.

"Yes," Annabeth said determinedly.

Reyna sighed, trying to be sympathetic. Annabeth had been living in a state of depression since her last talk with Percy. "Move over," Reyna demanded, climbing into bed with her. "Look, I know you don't see it now, but you and Percy will fix this. I believe in the two of you. And whilst I haven't really been very helpful…" she sighed. "Percy is your epic love. And I'm not going down without a fight."

"You've been very helpful," Annabeth contradicted. "Don't put yourself down. I have never seen you do anything short of extraordinary."

Reyna smiled. "Are you going to be okay?"

Annabeth sighed, audibly. "Well, let's see. I'm missing three halves of my socks and two pairs of shoes." She turned to Reyna who was laughing. She laughed as well. "Do not ask me if I'm okay."

Reyna sat crossed legged next to Annabeth and faced her, looking excited. "Well I have some good news that might brighten your day!" she exclaimed. Annabeth sat up next to her and yawned behind her hand, running a hand through messy bed hair.

"Shoot," she said. Reyna was already dressed in skinny jeans and t-shirt. No shoes and no braid, yet.

She held up a letter in her hand, grinning. It was pretty thick parchment with cursive writing on the back in her name. On the front was a blue seal with a fancy _H_ inscribed. "Is this my Hogwarts expectance letter?" Annabeth laughed. "It's ten years too late!"

"Okay, it's not that good," Reyna said. "But it's still good news."

Annabeth looked confused. "You feel really passionate about this letter," Annabeth said. "Are you sure it's not Hogwarts?" She opened it up and read the first line of the parchment inside. "What is this?"

"Harrington House," Reyna grinned.

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "Say what?"

"Harrington House," Reyna repeated. "It's an ultra-exclusive secret society for New Roman Women and Young Ladies."

Annabeth feigned a look of judgemental surprise. "Is that straight from a textbook?" Reyna looked hurt. "Okay, sorry," Annabeth laughed. "So what's the point of this posh-people club?"

"They deal with issues in New Rome," Reyna said. "Like the Senate House, but less about war. More about charities and fundraisers. They keep the environment in New Rome true to its purpose. Family-friendly."

"So basically like, the city council?" Annabeth said. "But only for women and secret? How is it secret if it's the City Council?"

"Because nobody knows about it unless they're a member," Reyna said. "And it's not the City Council. It's… like the angel on the City Council's shoulder. They donate to the Senate, and at the same time, they have the Senate wrapped around their finger."

"Why is it Women Only?" Annabeth asked, disinterested.

"Because it was founded by an Amazon," Reyna said. "And now it's tradition. Come on, it's going to be fun."

Annabeth sighed, placing the invitation on her dresser and leaning back into her pillows. "I don't really feel like parading around a Secret Society in a skirt-suit with some rich snobs. Thank you for the distraction though."

Reyna sighed, looking disappointed. "It's probably for the best," she huffed. "I mean; they were using you anyway. Other than your high grades, your Minerva heritage, your interesting backstory, they only wanted you for your architecture skills."

Annabeth looked up at Reyna then, her face not at all changing from it's sad and bored expression, but there was a hint of interest in her eyes. "My architecture skills?" she repeated. Yes, she was aware that Reyna was using architecture to manipulate her, but she didn't care. It was working.

"Mm-hm," Reyna nodded, still feigning look a disappointment. "They oversee every build in New Rome. It has to go through their edition and approval before it can be built, or the task will go straight to them and they have to design something from scratch. That's why they want you."

"They want me," Annabeth paused, "to oversee every design in New Rome, edit and approve every idea, and design a lot of it from scratch?"

"Most of it from scratch," Reyna corrected. "Only young, inspiring architects send in their ideas to the senate, who forward them to us, and we don't have many requests nowadays."

"We?" Annabeth asked.

Reyna held up her own invitation. "The try and recruit all ex-Praetor women," she said.

"So you're just trying to get me to join so we can do it together?" Annabeth asked. Reyna didn't reply. "Do I have to wear another ball gown?"

"Cocktail dress at the worst," Reyna promised.

-0-0-0-0-0-

In Jason's bedroom, things were getting a little too romantic. "Percy Jackson, I am in love with you," Jason said, looking deeply into Percy's eyes. Percy smiled at the confession, looking at Jason lovingly. "We'll get through this," Jason continued. "We can make it through anything. I know because… you are the person I am spending my life w- OKAY I QUIT."

"Annabeth wouldn't quit," Percy said, the romantic look falling off his face as he rolled his eyes.

"Well I'm sorry I'm not Annabeth!" Jason exclaimed. "If you want to practise what to say to her, try Reyna. Or better yet, go and talk to Annabeth!"

"We're taking time apart," Percy said. "Which means that I'm not supposed to talk to her."

"I still don't understand that," Jason sighed, flopping onto his bed. Percy was sleeping on an air mattress on the floor. It wasn't going to be permanent. Jason was counting on Percy and Annabeth getting back together soon so he could have his room back. He didn't want to waste money on bunkbeds only to have Percy move into Annabeth's room. "The whole break thing. Are you guys a couple or not?"

"No," Percy said. "No, we're not. We like, taking some independent time apart to recover from everything that happened, before we rethink possible solutions for our future."

Jason blinked. "That's probably the healthiest thing that's happened in our group for a long time." Percy nodded, looing fairly proud. "So you guy are still in love?" Jason asked. Percy nodded.

"Anyway, how's Reyna?" Percy asked. "We've barely spoke. Is she still upset about Michael going over to the dark side?" Jason just looked at Percy with a very confused expression on his face. "You seriously still haven't watched Star Wars?" Percy exclaimed.

Jason rolled his eyes. "Okay, I promise that if we make it out of college alive, I will watch that movie."

Percy huffed something under his breath about Jason being an idiot before heading off to the kitchen to make some breakfast. Reyna was already there, pouring herself the second cup of coffee for the day. He didn't say anything until he got to the fridge. "Is this cheese old?" he asked, holding a block out for her to look at.

She looked at him and smiled, weakly. "I bought it yesterday," Reyna said. "It's sartori."

He just raised an eyebrow, the word 'sartori' meaning nothing to him. "Does it melt?" he asked.

She had a blank expression. "All cheese melts, Percy."

He nodded, pretending as if he knew that already. He grated some in between two pieces of toast before sticking it in the microwave. "Do you want sugar?" he asked, bringing the sugar bowl out of the cupboard as Reyna blew on her coffee.

"Not too much," she said, holding the mug out. "I'm trying to count my blood sugar."

He sniggered. "Count my blood sugar. Because I'm about to have a big ass bowl of Cocoa Puffs as well as that cheese-soup sandwich in there." Reyna actually laughed before leaning on the counter and drinking her coffee, smiling at him.

"I'm sorry," she said. "About everything I said. Can we just… be friends again? I take everything I said back, about you losing me forever-"

"Shut up," he laughed, pulling her in for a hug. "Of course we can be friends again."

It was only a second later than Annabeth walked in and smiled at them. She had dressed and had her bag flung over her shoulder. "I'm glad you two made up," she commented. "Now, I'm off, I have Environmental Studies this morning."

"That's not for another hour," Reyna said, looking confused as her and Percy pulled apart.

"I have some errands to run before class," Annabeth commented, heading out the front door. "Bye!"

-0-0-0-0-0-

Her errands consisted of walking ten minutes out of her way to a Creative Writing seminar, which started five minute after she arrived. She didn't take the course and had no interest in it. But she did have an interest in spotting Michael, who stood outside the lecture hall, carrying three folders and trying to organise them before putting them in his satchel.

"Hey Mike," she mused, grabbing him by the front of his shirt when she approached him. She opened the door to the lecture hall and shoved him inside. "How about you and I have a little chat?" She followed in after him and closed the door behind them. She turned to him hands on her hips and a look to kill on her face.

"Annabeth," he sighed. "I figured you'd want to yell at me yourself. But this class starts in five minutes so how about you make this quick?"

"Or we can give your creative writing class some real life inspiration," she said, grinning sweetly. "Because if they see it in real life, they can accurately describe what it looks like when I slam your head against a desk until your nose breaks."

"That's a bit over the top," he said, overly calm.

"Over the top?!" she asked, taking a step forward and switching to crossing her arms. "Interesting choice of words. Was is a little over the top to blackmail my boyfriend with the threat of drugging me, stealing Reyna's phone to fake an emergency, breaking two hearts? You do realise that it's because of you that Percy got shot? That we all thought he was dead?! All for some book. Isn't that a little over the top?"

"I had nothing to do with Percy's accident," Michael said, defensively. "It's not my fault he decided to run away from his problems-"

He was interrupted by Annabeth's hand on his face, hitting his cheek with every ounce of strength that she had. Every drop of anger releasing itself through her slap. He staggered backwards, falling into the wall. His hand reached up to touch his face, which was lightly cut by one of Annabeth's nails.

"How dare you?!" she demanded. "How dare you do such despicable things to good people just so you can portray them in the worst light for your little book? You are just as bad as Octavian was. You remember your best friend?"

"I am not as bad as him," he growled.

"Well you're worse than all of us," Annabeth said. "Everyone you wrote about."

"That's the point!" he exclaimed. Then Annabeth looked confused, narrowing her eyes and stitching her eyebrows together.

When she spoke she shrugged a little, less angry and more confused. "What do you mean? The point of your book was to put everyone down so you looked good."

He shook his head, bewildered. "No. Did you even finish the book yet?" Annabeth shook her head. She was on Chapter 23 out of 26. "Well the entire point is that Mitchell Kane's the worst of them all," he said. "He's judgemental and he's rude. He shames people for stuff he doesn't even know about. He's a label-tossing douchebag. He's an all-round bad person. And in the end of the book all of his friends leave him because of it, and he deserves it."

Annabeth paused, listening to the first honest thing he's said. "Yeah," she nodded, sounding menacing. "He does."

* * *

 **A/N: I'm going to scratch the Nico/OC Love interest idea since I've had more negative thoughts on the idea than positive. (But no hate, so thank you for expressing negative opinions in a respectful way). Quick explanation: I am not exactly AGAINST Solongalo having a happy ending together, I just think... Will was a minor character the entire series and Rick only gave him a plotline as a love interest. And he was only actually included because Rick wanted Nico to have a love interest. That's just my opinion, so I hope I don't offend anyone. The reviews have somewhat turned into a Solangelo debate. I will keep Nico as a constant side character to this story though.**

 **I more embarrassing news: I went to a family reunion the other day. My dad told my nan that I wrote fanfiction and she asked for the link to read it. When I said no, my Uncle laughed and said it was 'erotica' and my aunt asked me if it was a little 'racy'. And that's how I turned red in front of four adults and tried to explain that I didn't write smut.**

 **Ugh, now I have to go tidy my room. Love you, please review! -Izzy**


	28. Chapter 28

**CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT:** _The Badass Seed_

Nothing was better than a morning jog around New Rome. Padded shoes on cobblestone, the ache in your muscles, the sweat on the back of one's next that made you feel accomplishment. "I'm so glad we did this," Annabeth panted, slowing to a stop outside of a little bakery, resting her hands on her knees.

"Yeah, me too," Jason said, stopping besides her and stretching his arms. He had taken off his shirt, being much too hot to keep it on. Annabeth partially wished she had the same luxury, but she was trapped in a sports bra and tank-top. "You done, Chase?" he asked.

She almost laughed. "Are you kidding?" she asked. "I could go on for hours."

He smirked. "I could go on for days," he challenged.

"Weeks," she snapped, straightening up. There was a short pause before she nodded to the bakery. "You want to get a doughnut before we make our way back?"

He nodded. "Energy food."

They went inside and bought two glazed rings and a hot chocolate each. They sat down on one of the two tables in the tiny shop and paused, still panting from the run. Annabeth's hair was up in a ponytail and barely reached her neck. She wore cropped leggings with her tank-top and sneakers. Jason was shrugging his t-shirt back on to match his jogging trousers.

"We should do this more often," she sighed.

"The doughnuts or the run?" he asked.

"Both," she laughed, sipping her hot chocolate. Jason dipped his doughnut into his hot chocolate and Annabeth wondered if that was any good, so she tried it. It was.

"So," he mused. "How's everything going with you and Percy?"

"Oh, everything's going very difficultly," she smiled. "Yeah, very depressing, pretty overwhelming." She blew it off casually, as if she was saying that everything was going well. But she meant what she said. It was getting harder and harder to talk to Percy every day. The longer the break was, the harder it was to return. But neither of them were ready to return.

Jason paused, looking at her worriedly. "Percy feels the same way," he said. Annabeth didn't find it hard picturing Percy open up to Jason. He was Percy's best friend. Percy felt safe telling him anything. "Annabeth," he paused. "Please don't take this as a suggestion, or as judgement. But if it's really so hard, and so depressing, why don't you let go? I always thought love was supposed to be easy, that is would just… happen."

"It doesn't," Annabeth said. She smiled at Jason and paused, trying to find the right words to say. "What Percy and I have is an epic love. No matter how much we fight, no matter what happens to us, it'll always draw us back in. And when it's real, you can't walk away. True love is worth fighting for, no matter what the odds."

When they separated Jason ran straight off to his Sociology lecture with Reyna, and Annabeth jogged home. To where Percy was.

Trying to be friends was hard. At first, Percy and Annabeth almost avoided each other. Then they began trying to replicate their friendships with Jason and Reyna. Then they realised that their relationship with each other, was nothing like their relationships with others.

So they went back to avoiding each other, which was particularly hard considering they now shared an apartment and Percy liked for food Annabeth bought. "Hey, Munchie," she scolded, walking in to the apartment to find him holding her tub of ice cream with a spoon in his mouth. "That's not for you."

"Sorry," he said, robotically, as he opened the freezer to put it back in. Instead she took it from his hands, careful not to touch his skin. She got her own spoon and sat on a barstool. "Where's Reyna and Jason?"

"They have their sociology lecture," she replied, concentrating more on her ice cream than Percy. They both noticed the tension and the awkwardness in the room. "So…" Annabeth mused. "How's this break going for you?"

Percy smacked his lips leaning on the counter. "Great," he said, sarcastically. "What about you?"

She shrugged. "I'm dandy." There was a very long pause. Like, a very, very long pause. He stayed in the same position and she was halfway through the tub before they spoke again. "Being friend's sucks," she whined.

Percy sighed a sigh of relief. "I know, right?" he exclaimed, as if he had been waiting for her to say it first. "I do _not_ know how we managed to do it for like, four years." He shook his head as he huffed, looking back on the old terms of their relationship.

"Right?!" she nodded. "It took us so long to get together." She stood up and put the ice cream back in the freezer. One doughnut, one hot chocolate and half a tub of ice cream before noon. In all fairness it was a medium-sized _Ben & Jerry's_. "What did we even do?"

"Bicker mostly," Percy shrugged. "I think it was because we had other interests. You fancied Luke. I was being pursued by Rachel. And Calypso. And Grov-"

"Okay, enough," Annabeth laughed. "It also had something to so with the fact that you were clueless. You couldn't tell that I had been crushing on you since I was twelve. Or that Rachel was crushing on you. And I bet it took you too long to figure out that Calypso liked you. You are so clueless when it comes to girls. I mean, you should write a book on how to friendzone people."

He paused, sucking his teeth. "You had a crush on me since you were twelve?" he asked. "That's a little bit embarrassing." She rolled her eyes, sniggering. "Wait, is that why you screamed when we went in the Tunnel-O-Love ride?"

She shook her head. "No, I screamed because of all the spiders," she said.

"No, before then," he laughed. "You said something like 'Ew, I'm not getting in that ride with you, what if somebody saw us?' It really embarrassed me."

"I was twelve," she said, rolling her eyes. "And I secretly hated me."

"No, you openly hated me," he said. "You secretly loved me. So I'm guessing the cringe attack you had when I mentioned us going into the Tunnel-O-Love ride must have been you over-compensating, or because you are very prudent."

She looked shocks and ever so slightly hurt. "I can be unpredictable," she said, to his doubtful eyes. "Okay? And _incredibly_ reckless!" She laughed when he muttered something that sounded like 'sure'. "Shut up," she laughed.

He paused, smiling at her for a minute before holding up his fist and pointing to it. "I think we hit friendship," he smirked, waiting for a fist-bump. She obliged, smiling.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Reyna was having a harder and harder time going to her classes. People in the corridors still whispered about her and muttered things. She didn't care about that. She didn't care when they started yelling rude words at her. She didn't even care when they threw pencils and rubbers at the back of her head.

She did care when they accused her of manipulating her way into power of Rome. Octavian made similar claims and a lot of people believed him at the time. And now, Michael's book basically backed Octavian up. Reyna couldn't help but think of how many nights she went without sleep, how many meals she missed because of how busy she was. How busy she was doing her very best for her Legion.

Going out of her way to make Rome greater than ever before. She lead them out of two wars, high treason, two apocalypses. She created new traditions, planned breath-taking ceremonies. She had been just and powerful, and fair and great. And she had been so very proud of all she accomplished while her reign lasted.

So yes, it hurt when she pulled out her Sociology Studies folder to find the word 'BITCH' written across the front with black marker pen. It hurt that she had lost the respect of people who once trusted her. People who once followed her.

But instead of making a scene, she pulled out her hand-sanitizer and a wet wipe and started scrubbing the cover of her folder, trying hard to get the stain off. It upset her. She didn't want to look at it every time she had a Sociology lecture.

"What are you doing?" said a voice near her. She looked up at Jason who was standing beside her seat. He looked like he had just gone for a run and Reyna tried to ignore the fact that he was shirtless.

"I'm stress-cleaning," she said, surprisingly optimistically. "I'm stressed. So I'm cleaning." Jason knew Reyna well enough to know that she actually stress-cleaned. She was pretty high-maintenance and a control-freak, so when she got too stressed, she dropped all of her duties and hit her room with yellow rubber gloves and a cloth.

"Your folder…?" he asked. He shoved his sweaty t-shirt in his bag before pulling out a clean one. He was about to sit down next to her but Reyna glared at him until he sprayed himself with deodorant.

"It needed cleaning," she justified. She gritted her teeth as she scrubbed the marker pen.

"What are you stressed about?" he asked, sitting down next to her. Reyna almost sniggered to herself. To most girls she knew, all masculine deodorant smelled the same, but the guys could tell the difference. To most guys she knew, all feminine deodorant smelled the same, but the girls could tell the difference. The little things she thought was funny.

She just sighed and showed him her folder. His face fell when he read it. "Who did that?" he asked. Reyna just shrugged, looking around the lecture hall as more people started filing in, trying to spot someone who looked guilty. "You know it's not true, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, I know," she said. She didn't need to convince Jason. He believed her, he always did.

"I think I have a spare folder," he said, digging into his bag. "You can have it-"

"Everything in this folder is alphabetically organized," Reyna said. "It's going to take at least thirty minutes to transfer everything. Give it to me at home."

They sat through the lecture in silence. They had barely spoken since Reyna told him she wouldn't give up control for him. At the end of the lecture they walked home together, talking idly about what their professor taught them. When they arrived home, the apartment seemed abandoned. "I know Annabeth has a lecture," Reyna mused.

"Percy's probably at the gym," Jason added. "By the way, there's something I've been wanting to talk to you about."

Reyna's face fell. Her back was to Jason so he couldn't see her frown. She had an idea about what it could be about. "Look, if it's about… what we talked about the other day…" The fact that they both had feelings for each other. That Reyna didn't want to give up control for him.

"It is," he nodded. Reyna sighed and pursed her lips. "But it's not what you think." She turned around to face him, not looking very expectant. "I'm not going to tell you that… I don't know. That you did nothing wrong, and that I'm a horrible person."

"Then what are you going to tell me?" she said, the look of annoyance falling away, leaving her with a blank expression.

"The other day you told me you made a list of all the ways having feelings for me has ruined your life," he sighed, not looking particularly sad. "And I get it, you know? I haven't exactly made it very easy on you." Reyna sniggered, remembering the months of worry when Jason abandoned her, ignored her, neglected her.

"But I made a list too," he said. "Of all the ways that loving you has changed my life." Her face fell when he said the word love. They had both said that word before. They had always been family, from their very first quest together. 'Love' was not an unknown word to them. But the way Jason said it this time, in a different context… it meant something much different. And Reyna wondered if it meant 'in love'.

"You made me laugh," he started, as if Reyna wasn't analysing his every word. "You made me dance. You made me smile and have fun and forgive myself. You were there for me, even when I wasn't there for you." He remembered, at the end of their first year, after sending Camille off to Boot Camp. Annabeth and Percy danced, leaving Jason and Reyna on the stairs. "You told me I would find love again. And I did."

She gulped, unable to say anything. She couldn't speak or even move. She still had that blank expression, except now her eyes were wider and studying the floor.

"And I understand," Jason said, "if you need time to deal, to live your life without me. I understand if I have to wait for you. Because I will. I'll wait. And when you're ready for me…"

At this point he leaned forward to kiss her cheek, exactly like she kissed his when she told him about her list. She didn't move a muscle until he leaned back. She made eye contact with him since the first time he started speaking. "…I will be ready for you," he finished.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"You showed up. I had doubts."

Michael was sat in an empty lecture hall, throwing a tennis ball at the back of a chair. Camille had just strutted through the door, wearing heels and a pink headband. She raised an eyebrow at his opening statement before sighing and shaking her head. "Amateurs," she breathed to herself.

He paused as she went to go and sit near him. "So you want to make a deal or not?" he asked, reaching up to stretch his temples. Dealing with Camille was pretty tiring. He didn't even like her. But she was smart and resourceful.

"Why do you?" she asked. "I mean; you have your novel. It's in very high demand. What purpose do you have for screwing with Reyna's life now?"

He rolled his eyes, shoving the tennis ball back in his bag. He could always answer her question with a question, or tell her it was none of her business. "I'm writing a sequel," he said. "Annabeth slapped me, so this is my revenge."

"By hurting Reyna?" Camille asked.

"This will hurt Annabeth, too," Michael said. "Besides, Reanna's the main heroin."

Camille paused, sitting down next to him. The Lecture Hall was abandoned. They weren't waiting for a class, there wasn't one. Not until the next day, anyway. Luckily, Michael knew how to pick locks. "Why…" Camille started, "Why must you play these games? To see how the characters would react to certain situations? Why don't you just be original? Creative? Like an author should be."

He turned to her, glaring. "My reasons are my own."

"So you do have another motive?"

"My reasons are my own," he repeated, his voice rising angrily. "Are you going to help me, or not?"

"Of course I am," Camille sniggered. "I mean, honestly. I've been left out of all the drama, abandoned, neglected. I miss it. The thrill. And I haven't been this bored since I believed in Jesus. Count me in."

* * *

 **A/N: I kind of wanted to show some Jasabeth and Percabeth friendship here. Also, I saw this collection of head cannons on tumblr about Reyna being a bit of a control freak / neat freak and I liked them, so I kind of jumped on board, and that was kind of portrayed here.**

 **Camille's coming bac to wreck havoc and she'll be one of the main sources for the drama in their last year. Hazel guest stars next chapter. The first scene of this chapter had a parallel next chapter, with Nico/Percy brotp. Michael's evilness will be explained a little more in Chapter 30. I can also promise that his time as the villain is coming to an end, and he will get punched in the face, but I won't elaborate.**

 **time failed us: That was so sweet! It made my day to read that review, so thank you so much for taking your time to write such a long one! Like I said, Michael's time as villain is facing it's end. So glad you like it!**

 **ngsie and Irwin2000: It was so awkward I wanted to die. There will be a cliff hanger at the end of this year, but it will be smaller than the last one.**

 **Thank you to everyone who helped out with the fanfiction thieves. The warning's been taken down now, so if you don't know what I'm talking about, feel free to PM me. A couple of the websites have been taken off Google which is good news. On tumblr I even warned my Notp's fangirls because nobody deserves to have this happen. So thanks to everyone who reported it. -Izzy**


	29. Chapter 29

**CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE:** _Know Your Frenemies_

Percy liked having Nico around. For the last year he hadn't really had a set place to live. When he returned from Spain he usually just stayed in the dorm rooms of some friends. Not really friends. Party friends that he only actually liked when he was drunk. Like Jenna, for example, the Donald Trump supporter, but when Percy was drunk, she was Jenna the chugged-an-entire-keg-and-almost-died girl. And Aaron, the guy who went on a diet of carrot sticks. Only carrot sticks. But at parties, he always bought the best music.

Percy had hated staying with them. So when he got offered a place in Jason's room full-time, he snatched up the opportunity. And he liked it. He also liked having guests around, ones that he actually liked. So he sat in Jason's bed, while Jason was away, and Nico paced at the foot of the bed, rambling on about Will Solace.

"…so then he invited me over to the Apollo table," he was saying as Percy typed up an essay, "and Chiron let him but when I didn't sit with him he moved over to sit by me and we didn't really speak but I'm thinking about talking to him, you know?"

Percy stopped typing and looked up. "Like, asking him out?"

Nico shrugged, looking a little embarrassed. "I don't know. I guess?"

"But do you like him?" Percy asked. "Because this whole 'being gay' business isn't just: oh, he's gay, I'm gay, we're compatible. You have to actually like him." He had a lesbian friend who went to his gym who often complained about girls only wanted to date her because they could.

Nico paused, looking to the side as he though. Ten seconds later he looked back at Percy. "Yeah, I really like him. What should I say? What do you say to Annabeth?"

Percy shrugged. "I say: I cheated on you! Now I'm dead. Kidding! But I did cheat on you. Haha, tricked you again, I stayed faithful. Yeah, maybe we shouldn't get back together straight away." He looked up at Nico. "If you're looking for a relationship like that, you've come to the right place, my tiny friend."

"On second thought," Nico mused. "I think I'll ask Hazel for advice. He relationship seems stable."

"Good choice," Percy nodded, approvingly.

Nico paused before sitting at the end of Jason's bed. "Not to sound judgemental," he said, "but if it's so hard, and so… dysfunctional, then why don't you just walk away? Cut your losses and count it as an epic memory?"

Percy sighed, closing the laptop and sitting up. "Because we're in love. And when you're really in love, you can't walk away."

"Well how do you know when you're really in love?" Nico asked.

Now, if this was a movie, this would be the part where he describes how her hair smells and how her eyes reassure him that everything's going to be okay. Then he would run off, realising he couldn't live without her and kiss her in the rain. But this wasn't a movie, so Percy told him the truth, one of the ways that proved he was in love with Annabeth.

"After I got shot," he said, the scar on his torso hurting when he said it, "I had a dream of Annabeth. I told her I couldn't fight anymore. And I think the dream was a glimpse of Elysium. But Annabeth told me to fight, that I owed it to her. So I did. I fought. And I survived, not because I wanted to, but because she wanted me to. After I got shot, I didn't know how to live anymore. But somehow, dreaming of Annabeth, being home with Annabeth, I figured it out. And that's what love should be. You should love the person who makes you glad that you're alive."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Reyna and Annabeth got ready together. It wasn't something they usually did. Stand over the sink at a mirror doing their hair, but that night was a very fancy night.

Reyna styled Annabeth's hair so it was clipped back above one ear, emphasising the curls on the other side. She wore it with a strapless, light blue cocktail dress that had a wrap-skirt down to her knees. She wore a cardigan to cover her bare shoulders and neck, but she would have to leave it at the coat check when they arrived. She also wore high-heeled shoes that matched her dress colour.

Reyna's own hair was French braided over the top of her head, like a crown, and around to meet at a braided bun at the base of her neck. She had a beige dress, the same length as Annabeth's, but with long sleeves and a low back. It had silver patterns running along it and she wore it with matching high-heeled shoes. She had a tiny evening bag, which held their phones and spare hairbands.

"Is this evening going to suck?" Annabeth asked. "Be honest."

It was the initiation evening for Harrington House. They would pretty much spend the whole night conversing with the upper-west side of New Rome, drinking champagne and gushing over new organisations.

"No," Reyna sighed. "I've been to like, three of these before as praetor. Hazel will be there!" That didn't particularly lighten Annabeth's mood. "The building it takes place in has a stain-glass window that's been re-used since 1509. Just talk to the architecture geeks about that."

It wasn't a long walk from campus to the building, and nobody seemed to question their attire. It was set in a large hall, with hardwood floors, two rows of marble pillars, a high ceiling and a large stain-glass window at one end. They needed to show their invitations to get in. Everyone there was women, except from the waiters who were traditionally men. The Amazons favoured the prospect of men serving women.

Reyna personally disagreed. She dreamed of a world where men and women were treated entirely equally. Unfortunately, a considerable amount of the rest of the world believed in male domination, and her own sister believed in women superiority. "I need a drink," Reyna said, interrupting her own thoughts. Probably best not to get into a feminist rant that night.

"Great," Annabeth said, grabbing two chutes of champagne from a passing waiter. She handed one two Reyna and they clinked glasses before sipping. "Now we have to split up, we look weird."

Reyna bought her over to an old friend, Hilary, one of New Rome's finest architects, and introduced them. "Annabeth was the one who redesigned Olympus," she smiled. Hilary instantly burst with a thousand questions and Reyna left them to it. She wondered around the party until she found Hazel, the youngest member there.

"Hey," she grinned. Hazel looked striking in a purple, t-shirt sleeved dress with a white collar. Her hair fell naturally and she wore flats instead of heels. "How's praetorship working for you?"

Hazel almost rolled her eyes. "How dare you leave me with such a hard job?" she asked. Reyna just laughed. They had a conversation about leading the Legion before Hazel was whisked away by some committee leader and Reyna started a conversation with a Senate Member.

After the first hour, Reyna was tapped on the shoulder and she turned to face Camille. Much to her displeasure. "What are you doing here?" Reyna asked.

"I'm a member," Camille said. "Sorry to break it to you." She wore a black dress and heels and had the kind of hairstyle you could see a Disney evil Queen wearing. "Look, I need to talk to you."

"That's a pity," Reyna said, trying to turn back to her conversation.

"It's important," Camille said. Reyna reluctantly agreed, following Camille to a small side room. She was a year older than Annabeth or Reyna, so it made sense for her to be a member already. Especially since they liked taking special cases. And Camille did spend months doing charity work in the name of Jesus.

"What's this about?" Reyna asked, crossing her arms.

"Okay, this is embarrassing," Camille said, managing to create a light, breezy and very fake laugh. "You're not supposed to be here."

Reyna just raised an eyebrow. "I have my invitation in my bag if you want proof?"

Camille paused, looking regretful. "There's been a misunderstanding," she said. "When the invitations were sent, it was for you and Annabeth to compete for a spot in Harrington House. Some newbie made a massive mistake."

Reyna paused. "And you know this how?"

Camille shrugged, pulling a gold necklace from under her hair. There was a large key charm and Reyna's eyes widened. Camille was the key master, the person who decided who got in and who didn't. "I'm sorry about this mix up-"

"Well I'm not going to compete against Annabeth," Reyna said. "And I'm sure she feels the same-"

"Apparently she doesn't," Camille mused. "She appeared at our last meeting with a very convincing case as to why she should be a member and not you. The secret committee liked her, which leaves you out of Harrington House."

There was a short pause before Camille began to walk out. "Feel free to help yourself to some more champagne on your way out. It looks like you need it."

-0-0-0-0-0-

The rest of the night went very smoothly. Camille didn't see Reyna and assumed she left. Three whole hours of peaceful, elegant fun passed before anything interesting happened. "What's this?" Camille said, approaching a group of college it-girls. "Sale on wrap dresses?" There were all huddled around, watching their phones and whispering excitedly.

"Better," one of them grinned, turning to Camille. "Reyna thinks Annabeth blocked her from getting into Harrington House and is going _Jersey Shore_ on her ass."

"And some anonymous idiot is streaming it live," another girl said, turning her phone to Camille, who took it out of her hands to watch the little video.

 _"You couldn't stand me steeling your spotlight,"_ Reyna was saying, turning angrily to Annabeth in a room Camille recognised. It was a small living side room to that building, behind a thick curtain. There was a couple of couches and a plush rug, but other than that, it was empty.

 _"Oh why would Harrington House want you?"_ Annabeth demanded. _"Because you've achieved nothing other than have a book written about what a slut you are?"_

"Let's go watch," one of the girls said to Camille. "I love drama!" They all started walking in the direction of the room, but Camille stopped them.

"Wait," she ordered. They did so. "We can watch from here," she said, devilishly walking over to a TV screen. She grinned to herself. They were planted all over the room to show of the art work and achievements of the members. She plugged a wire into the phone so the whole room could watch the argument.

 _"… I learned a lot about the issues,"_ Reyna was saying, but none of them had caught what issues she was referring to.

 _"You mean your messed up issues?"_ Annabeth was saying.

 _"Like you're so healthy,"_ Reyna laughed. She mimicked Annabeth. _"I hate Percy, I love Percy, I hate Percy, I love Percy, I hate Percy-"_

 _"And who do you love?"_ Annabeth demanded. _"Jason, then Percy, then Jason again! Then that guy Tyler in England, then Michael, then Jason again! Maybe you re that little slut everyone seems to think you are."_

Reyna gasped and so did the girls watching. They watched as Reyna reached forward to grab a fist of Annabeth's hair. Slaps were thrown and they heard a rip. Reyna pulled a chuck of Annabeth's hair out and through it to the floor.

"I think we've seen enough," Camille said, walking across the room to the curtain that lead to where Annabeth and Reyna were fighting. "We have to save Annabeth from that crazy bitch!" She pulled the curtain across and looked in.

Reyna was lying down in one of the couches, watching the fight on her phone. Annabeth was sat on the other, twiddling the blond lock of hair in her hands. "Turns out I'm not the crazy one," Reyna mused, looking up from her phone. They stood up and walked over to Camille.

Annabeth shoved the chunk of hair into her hands and smiled. "Or the bitch."

Annabeth and Reyna seemed to be discovering the joys of filmmaking. There was a pause before Camille turned on her heel and tried to walk back to the party. Someone had changed the TV screens back and nobody seemed to care about that fight.

"Admittedly, your plot to blame me for Reyna not getting into Harrington House would have worked with any other Greek/Roman pairing," Annabeth said. "But not us."

"Do you really think I would have believed you over Reyna?" Annabeth asked.

Camille turned to them, holding her head up. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said. Then she continued, dropping the chunk of hair on the floor. "Or what just happened here…"

"We had a friend film us earlier," Annabeth said, rolling her eyes as if Camille was just being particularly dim. "A friend of ours played it back as a favour."

Camille just turned to Reyna. "You're just upset you didn't get into Harrington House."

"You purposely tried to keep me out," Reyna said.

"Why would I do that?" Camille asked, crossing her arms. The group of girls who first showed her the video still stood behind her, watching Reyna and Annabeth with a slightly scared expression on their faces.

"Because you're obviously still pissed about Reyna sending you to boot camp," Annabeth said. "Despite the fact that it was two years ago! Despite the fact that you drugged me. I guess I can't blame you, being the daughter of the Revenge Goddess."

Camille rolled her eyes, turning to Reyna. "Whatever revenge fantasy you have going on, Reyna, it has nothing to do with me. I told you that it was the committee that chose Annabeth over you, they make the decisions-"

"You seriously didn't think we wouldn't know anyone on the committee?" Reyna asked, smirking.

Camille's face fell. "You can't. That's the secret part of a secret committee."

"Unless the key master misbehaves," Hazel said, coming up behind Camille. All female praetors were a part of the committee, whether they were old enough or not. Hardly anybody knew that fact.

"I used to be Praetor," Reyna said to Camille. "Remember?"

"One phone call confirmed the obvious," Hazel smirked. "Reyna has always been at the top of the list. Congratulations, Rey."

Reyna smiled. "Thanks, Hazel."

Hazel then turned to Camille, a very smug look on her usually kind face. "Key please," she ordered, holding her hand out. Cami growled slightly as she took the necklace off from around her neck. She dropped it into Hazel's hand. The group of girls who stood behind her moved to stand behind Reyna and Annabeth.

"I am getting seriously tired," Hazel said, scowling at Camille, "of you and your schemes. One more move and I'm sending you back to boot camp. Most likely without a return until after the final year of college." She turned to Reyna, Annabeth and the group of girls. "Champagne anyone?"

They all followed Hazel but Annabeth waited behind. "What's going on? I thought you were one of the good guys now."

"I guess I never stopped being mad at Reyna," Camille said. "It's in my blood. And… Percy hasn't spoken to me for almost a year. He was my only friend in years and you stole him from me."

Annabeth's face fell. "Okay, but you could have just talked to us. Scheming, plotting and revenge wasn't the way to get your friend back. I doubt Jesus would approve of that."

Camille smirked. "Well… you can tell Jesus," she leaned in before winking, "that the bitch is back."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Michael excelled in many talents. Writing was his main skill and hobby, but he also liked to consider himself an artist, technician, mathematician, chef, musician. He could speak Latin and French, thanks to his mother, but he was also learning Chinese and knew a little Spanish thanks to his time with Reyna.

As the son of Venus, everybody expected him to be a romantic, and he was in a way. Not in the way one would usually expect. He didn't pine after Reyna after their break up, he didn't try to win her back, or, in a more romantic way, let her go. No, instead he decided to break her heart, like she broke his.

Reyna loved too easily. Everybody saw her as closed off and cold, and she could be. But if you were someone very special, it wouldn't take her long to decide you were family, and when she did, she would die for you. She wore her heart on her sleeve because she didn't know better. Hearts were fragile. So he broke hers by portraying her in the worst possible light. And even when broken hearts heeled they were never the same.

His goal was to make sure she would never love Jason the way she loved him.

He snapped himself out of his thoughts to check the time. 3:00 in the morning. Interesting. He saved his work on his laptop and began to transfer it onto his flashdrive. Photoshop was amongst his many skills and he had just spent the last 6 hours perfecting the perfect set of pictures and videos. Things Reanna would do that could ruin Reyna.

You must break your characters open to see what they were made of. And they were all Michael's characters, his little dolls to play with.

* * *

 **A/N: I know the Percico scene was fairly short. And yes, I threw in a Solangelo mention in there. It won't progress further than a mention, but hopefully it'll put the debate in the reviews to rest. Nico features in almost every chapter in their last year. Promise. Speaking of which, next chapter is the last chapter of their third year. I have planned a cliffhanger, which is not nearly as dramatic and cruel as the last one (haha sorry Percy) but it's a cliffhanger nonetheless. Hopefully it could be up tomorrow.**

 **And the last year is spent with little to know drama. And I'm planning a big graduation chapter.**

 **Anywho, please review!-Izzy**


	30. Chapter 30

**CHAPTER THIRTY:** _Gone Girl_

The Feast of Fortuna. Possibly Reyna's favourite time of year. As Praetor she always loved sitting at the high table, looking down at her subjects and knowing that she had complete power. She could tell them to do anything and they would. There was some strange, psychotic pleasure in that. But as an ex-praetor, she learned that it was just as good to sit with the crowd, enjoying the time as friends and not queen.

She shared a table with Percy, Jason, Annabeth and Nico, not too far from the praetor table so Hazel and Frank could join them when they were able to sneak away. It was a lovely, peaceful evening for the most part, and everyone was holding out hope for good fortune in the year ahead. Until, of course, they saw Michael and Camille talking to Hazel from the corner of their eyes. "What in the name of Athena are they doing?" Annabeth asked.

"Probably their latest scheme," Jason said, craning his neck to get a better look.

Percy tried to say something but had a mouthful of chicken so was unsuccessful. Everybody turned to him and he sighed before swallowing. "They're working together now?" he asked.

Up by the praetor table, Michael and Camille were standing side-by-side when Camille held up the flashdrive Michael had made. "Excuse me, Praetor Hazel," she said. "I believe we have something you need to see. We have proof Reyna Arellano is having an affair with one of her professors and that she's trading sex for grades."

Hazel paused before putting her goblet down and sighing. "Michael, Camille, I am here with my boyfriend. I am somewhat off-duty tonight, tonight is the one night of the year I get to relax, enjoy myself."

It was at that point where Jason and Annabeth walked up to the Praetor table, their faces plastered with a polite expression. "Praetor, these people aren't bugging you, are they?" Annabeth said, smiling sweetly.

Hazel seemed to sigh again. "Of course you're involved with this, Annabeth. I told you, and Reyna to stay off my radar." Reyna and Nico also joined them, until Hazel stood up to face the group.

"Praetor, I'm not lying," Camille said, convincingly.

"What's going on?" said a new voice. Professor Weatherstone, who lectured Reyna's sociology course. Him and Reyna were pretty close for a student/teacher relationship. She often had him check her assignments before it was due in, and he was kind. He was inspiring to her in a sense. And was young. Not five years older than them. But their encounters were still very professional.

"Nothing that concerns you, Professor," Hazel sighed. "Or anyone else, at the moment." She looked back at the group with a menacing glare, but Michael and Camille were relentless.

"Actually, this does concern him," Michael interrupted. "He's the one in the photos with Reyna."

Reyna blinked. "What photos?"

"Photos of you having an affair with a professor," Annabeth whispered. "We know Camille loves to play with videos." She paused, remembering the photos and videos Camille was going to show of Annabeth in their first year.

Hazel just turned to Professor Weatherstone. "Is that why you resigned your post today?" she asked.

Weatherstone paused, looking at each individual face in the group, sticking his hand in his pocket. "Whilst it's true that I resigned because of my involvement with a student, it's nobody's business who that student is." Percy was the last person to join the crowd, having decided to finish his meal before joining the drama. "The fact that matters is that the responsibility was mine and I took it."

Reyna was disappointed. Very disappointed. He was her favourite professor and had a certain intellectual intelligence that she liked. Now he had had an affair with some student and was forced to resign.

Hazel nodded. "Somewhat admirable," she said. "And while, usually in student/teacher relationships, it is the teacher who takes responsibility, if this student is said to be trading sex for grades…" she looked nervously at Reyna, with very apologetic eyes, "no matter how small the claim, or how little I believe it… it's protocol to look further into the case."

"Oh, let me get my camera," Michael suggested, looking into his bag.

"Here," Camille said, throwing the flashdrive under Hazel's nose.

"Let me help you with that," Annabeth offered, reaching forward and taking the flashdrive. In less than a second she had dropped it into her goblet with was filled with soda. "Oops!" she exclaimed, casually.

The whole group turned to look at her, Michael with an incredibly angry face and Camille with narrowed eyes. "You don't want to look at those photos anyway," Annabeth sighed. "Because it wasn't Reyna in them… it was me."

"Annabeth, you don't have to do that," Reyna said.

"Why would I jeopardize my college career by lying?" Annabeth scoffed. She turned to Hazel. "Now, we all know I'm not trading sex for grades. I'm a child of Athena, or Minerva, so I clearly don't need to. Which means that the responsibility falls to the professor. So go ahead: fire Weatherstone. Oh wait, you can't. He already resigned." There was another pause as Annabeth smirked. "So let's just continue the feast and finish a wonderful evening."

"You honestly believe this story?" Camille scoffed. "We know the difference between black and blonde hair, it wasn't Annabeth in the pictures."

"If I may say something," Percy said, taking a step forward. "I, for one, fully back up Annabeth's story. She was in fact having an inappropriate relationship with Professor Weatherstone. I know this because I keep tabs on everyone she talks to, or looks at, or concerns herself with due to my uncontrollable jealousy."

Nico nodded. "It's insane," he said. Of course, neither Reyna or Annabeth had an affair with a professor. But if Annabeth took the fall then, as a child of Athena who had no reason to manipulate herself better grades, then the responsibility would lie with Weatherstone, who already quit. And neither of the girls would be affected by it.

"But Annabeth did say something," Percy said, drawing the attention of the crowd back to him again, "something along the lines of the fact that Weatherstone didn't satisfy her quite like I used to."

Annabeth turned from Percy to Weatherstone and then to Hazel. "It's true," she said. Hazel just blinked and everyone paused.

"You see?" Camille explained. "They're all protecting each other!"

"It's what they always do," Michael added.

Hazel looked at Michael, confused. "Who are you?" she asked. Then she shook her head at the offended Michael and turned back to Camille. "Camille, the reality is that without proof…" Annabeth smiled at her goblet, admiring the chunk of metal in it "…I can't tell who's lying and who's not."

"Well there was proof!" Camille exclaimed. "Until Annabeth drowned it."

Hazel sighed again. "This matter is over," she said. "Neither Reyna, nor Annabeth is in the wrong as far as I can see, Professor Weatherstone has resigned, can we all please return to a happy evening?" Her voice rang with authority so the crowd all split up.

They went to go and sit down again, but when they saw Camille storming away from the feast all alone, their plans changed. They all stood up. "Nico, you coming?" Percy asked, when Nico stayed in his seat.

"No, I don't know Camille well enough to be a part of this," Nico replied. "You four have fun though."

Percy, Annabeth, Jason and Reyna followed her until she stopped, and they surrounded her. She looked around the little circle they made and was successfully intimidated.

"Your obsession with the girls has gone too far," Jason started, standing to her left.

"Just because you're the daughter of Revenge and have delusions of being the good guy," Reyna added, standing to her right, "does not make it okay to try and ruin people's lives."

Camille turned to the one friendly face she knew, her eyes beginning to get tearful. "Percy this isn't me," she said, choking a little. "You know that." She was silently begging for any small sign of compassion. But there was none.

"Why would I believe anything you say ever again?" Percy asked, his hands casually in his pockets.

"You tried to ruin my friendship with Reyna," Annabeth said. Camille turned to her, angrily. "Both of our reputations, our academic careers!"

"You failed every time and now it's time for you to go," Jason said.

Camille paused, looking at the path that headed back to her home, that the group was blocking by surrounding her. "I'm trying to," she muttered.

"He means our lives," Percy said.

"You don't belong with us anyway," Reyna shrugged.

"If we catch you hanging around again," Jason said, "plotting, scheming, planning more torture for us to endure, there will be consequences."

"And we're really good at payback," Annabeth added.

Camille broke through them and stormed off, back to her apartment angrily. The four left just looked at each other proudly. They went back to the feast and sat back down with Nico, finishing their meals and having a surprisingly good time. No problem was ever so bad that it couldn't be fixed with good company, good food and a chugging competition between Jason and Percy.

Everything remained peaceful until Nico did the very unexpected. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Michael leaving and Nico got to his feet. "What are you doing?" Annabeth asked as Nico walked over to Michael. "What is he doing?"

"Sssh," Jason said, watching intently.

"Hey, Michael," Nico said. "Before you go…" Michael turned to him, a knowing expression on his face. Everybody expected Nico to say something about his book, how dare he do that to Reyna, someone he was supposed to like. Instead, Nico punched him in the face. Michael stumbled backwards at the force. "That was from all of us," Nico said, before turning back and sitting back down, as if nothing had happened.

-0-0-0-0-0-

They didn't see Michael again for a month. A whole Michael-free month before they were called in to an Institute on the outskirts of the city. Nico wasn't called in, he had less to do with Michael than the other four. They stood in a small black box with a tall lady in a pant-suit. Dr Sanderson. There was nothing in the room except from a large window, leading into another room.

On the other side it would look like a mirror, and the person in the other room wouldn't be able to see them. Michael. He was a mess. Messy hair, pale saggy skin, dark bags under his eyes. He was wrapped in a blanket and sitting alone in the blank room, facing the mirror. His face was expressionless, and he didn't seem to be recognising anyone or anything. Isolated in his own head.

"I've been treating him for a while now," Dr Sanderson said. "But it was only until last month when we decided he needed round-the-clock treatment. He had an obsession with your lives, and in his mind, you were his dolls. Free to be played with."

"I don't understand," Percy said. "I just… don't get it."

"Nobody really expects these things," Dr Sanderson said. "We suspect that this is why he was such good friends with Octavian. Because he suffered from a similar case."

"And that case is?" Annabeth asked.

"The reason we called you here," Dr Sanderson said. "We want you to know why Michael viewed you as his puppets. Why he wanted to destroy your lives and why he almost could. He was living in a perpetual state of hyper-reality. The adrenaline rush that accompanied his feeling of empowerment and his high level of intelligence was enough to fuel his ability to be seemingly all knowing. He thought he had the power to destroy you, and it was within his right."

Reyna was more upset about it than the other three. She once loved Michael. Perhaps she was not in love, but she almost was, and she loved him in a way. She thought it was bad when he wrote about her and tried to ruin her, but it was worse when she knew why. She looked into the cold metal room, where Michael was sat facing them, without actually seeing them. The blanket he had wrapped around him. His skin was almost the same colour as the grey walls.

When Reyna spoke her voice was shaky and unsure. "Will he always be like this?" she asked, looking up at Dr Sanderson, who was incredibly tall.

She paused. "With therapy and the right medication, people with these personality disorders can get better," she said.

There was another pause where they all turned to Michael before Reyna choked up. "I can't believe this," she squeaked, barely able to talk. "I loved him." Jason pulled her into his arms and she leaned her head on his shoulder, allowing herself to cry.

-0-0-0-0-0-

 _Dear Annabeth, Percy, Jason, Nico and anyone else who needs an explanation:_

 _I'm going out of town for a few weeks. I can't just continue on with my daily life, seeing Michael's book in stores and seeing the places he once sat and we once talked or kissed or something. I'm finding it hard to cope, and maybe this is unprogressively thinking, but coping seemed to work for me in the past when I had no one. Which is why I'm going alone._

 _I'm sorry Annabeth, if you're offended by my choice to leave without you. It's become a sort of tradition for us to spend the summer away but together. But that was when you needed to cope. Now this is me, and I know you're there for me. But I need to spend this summer figuring out if I'm there for me._

 _I don't think I've put this much emotion on paper in… in a long time. So please burn it when you're finished with it._

 _I promise I'm safe. I'm not going to tell you where I am in case the peace is disturbed. The peace is always disturbed when we're grouped together. Just know that I'm safe. I'm going to spend this summer figuring out where I want to go from here._

 _People say college is made for figuring out who you're going to be. But somewhere along the way, I lost all the progress I made. I hope you can respect my decision to pull away from it all and take a breather. After all, we've all tried to anyway. Annabeth in England, Percy as Liam in Spain. Jason… well we still have a year._

 _I promise I'll be back by then. September the 1st, ready for our last year of college. I'll be home by that point. Please trust me._

 _Reyna._

* * *

That was the letter she left before disappearing. Nobody had any clue where she went, or who she was with. Nobody saw her leave. Annabeth found the letter. The first person she showed it to was Jason. Percy read it over his shoulder and then they showed Nico and Hazel, who were practically her siblings. Hazel told Frank what it said.

Jason called Piper. He told her that Reyna might pass through New York, so could Camp Half-Blood keep an eye out for her. She once said it was a second home after all. But they got nothing. Piper asked if Jason and Reyna were dating. Jason said no. Piper said by the way he sounded when he spoke about her, that they probably should be.

They did trust Reyna. They let her go, do her thing for the summer. Take a break. They all agreed that she needed one. After Michael was sentenced to full time in a Mental Institution, it was probably best for Reyna to get away. As long as she camp back for the start of the academic year.

As long as she returned when she said she would.

But she didn't.

* * *

 **A/N: I have no idea where I went with this chapter, it just sort of happened. Bet none of y'all were expecting that. It's actually been in the plan for a while now. I told you there would be a smaller cliffhanger than last time.**

 **Solangelo will not be developed further than mentions. I just don't ship it. Besides, I wouldn't even know how to incorporate Will into this story.**

 **ngsie: the window. They can't just carry around an entire building every time they move.**

 **Someone said my writing was too British. I know they live in America. But honestly, I don't know what slang Americans use, or what slang only British people use. lol soz**

 **REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW pllleeeeaaaasssseee? -Izzy**


	31. Chapter 31

**CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE:** _Dirty Rotten Scandals_

"So you're not with Percy?"

Annabeth was so incredibly tired of hearing that question. She sat in the kitchen of her Dad's house, eating out a bowl of spare cookie dough as he took the last batch out of the oven. "No," she answered, sitting the bowl down. "Well… it's complicated."

"Complicated?" her Dad asked. "Complicated how?"

"Dad, if I needed advice in my love-life I would ask," she said. There was a pause. "Anybody but you," she muttered under her breath. "What's with all the cookies?" she asked. She got to her feet and groaned when she walked past a mirror. Her step-mother's niece, Annabeth's step-cousin, had wanted to play beauty shop. She was currently living with hair straightened by an eight-year-old.

"Back-to-school bake sale," her Dad said. "Are you going to help, or just eat the leftover dough?" Annabeth rolled her eyes, tying her hair up and out of her face. She wore a floral tank-top and shorts. Her feet were bare, but there was a pair of sandals near the table. Her father had arranged a family summer. And with her little brothers, her three cousins, step aunt and uncle, and her Dad's mother, Annabeth was surprisingly not stressed.

She missed the days when she could run off with the kids and play Lego whilst the grown-ups talked, but now she was 21. Her birthday had been a couple months so now she was considered a full adult and was offered wine instead of juice at family get together's. "You literally just pulled the last batch out of the oven," she smirked. "I don't know what you want from me."

Her Dad smirked. "So what happened with Percy anyway? I thought he was your first love."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Are you going to let it go?" He shook his head and she groaned. "Great," she muttered. "We went through some crappy stuff that we're recovering from. We're still very much in love and we've just got… some stuff to do by ourselves before we get back in a relationship."

Her Dad paused. "Well that sounds very mature of you," he approved. "And you tell that boy he better start pulling his act together, if he was the reason for all this nonsense that got between you."

"He wasn't," she said. "It was other people."

"Did he cheat?" he asked, pointing his spatula at her.

"Of course not," Annabeth exclaimed. "And neither did I for that matter. For the love of Athena, you have to butt out of my love life. I'm 21 years old!"

At that point, her little cousin ran in with a paper airplane and a confused look. "Why is Nana singing the National Anthem?" she asked, looking up curiously. Even her cousins on her step-mothers side called her Dad's mother 'Nana'.

"Because she can," Annabeth answered. "Now get out. Go." When the kid ran away Annabeth turned back to her Dad, sadly. "Nana's not all with it anymore, is she?"

Her Dad shrugged slightly when Annabeth's phone went off. She hadn't gotten a text that wasn't from a family member all summer. The group had kind of split up, fallen apart. So seeing Nico's Caller ID was a big surprise.

 _'Reyna is officially missing. She was supposed to be back one week ago. Sending a location ASAP.'_

"Um, Dad?" Annabeth asked. "I may have to leave this summer early."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Jason ran his hand through his hair, staring at his computer screen. When he looked up from it, the world seemed too dim, not electronic enough. He had spent the entire summer typing, staring at his screen, researching.

He had gotten a summer job in Charleston, the same place where Reyna, Annabeth, Hazel and Piper had all spoken to Aphrodite. He had initially taken a vacation because everybody else was, and Jason didn't exactly have a family he could stay with. He had chosen Charleston because it reminded him of his favourite quest with Reyna. He took an independent vacation and gotten a summer job at a local newspaper company.

"You alright there, Grace?" asked a co-worker near him. "This your last article? Heard you were going back to school tomorrow. Shame you couldn't transfer here; the team could use you full time." Jason grinned. They sat in a large room with hardwood floors and three, long tables, each with a row of red chairs on either side. At each red chair there was a worker, typing away.

When Jason first thought of Journalism, he didn't think of wearing a suit and being stuck in an office, but that's what he got. It was good references, and he had learned a lot. But the experience hadn't been his favourite.

"You'll all be greatly missed," he smirked. The guy who sat opposite him, James, was a pretty sexist, arrogant guy who thought he ran the office. For some reason he liked Jason, who wished to all the Gods of Olympus that he could shake him.

Jason stood up and walked around to the break room, slotting some change into the vending machine. He had spent an entire summer dealing with James and writing articles about Islamophobia, gender inequality payment, rude people at train stations and even one article about the struggles of socks.

It wasn't beaches and margaritas, but it had been well-payed work and good experience, especially for only one summer. He was hoping to be able to put their reference on a resume as it would sound very good. Maybe he should get into journalism more… He shook the thought from his head. That had been Reyna and Michael's thing. He didn't want to even get involved in that.

"Mr Grace," cheered a voice from behind him. He was so not used to being called that.

"Mr Donovan," Jason said, turning and smiling at his oh-so-friendly boss. "Did you get my e-mail?"

Mr Donovan nodded, rather sadly. "Shame to see you leaving the team," he confirmed. "Your latest article, the book review? Publishers loved it. Loved it, Jason! You literally sent two of them home to re-read the book from a different perspective. You have a way with words, my good son."

His latest book review. The one about 'Rosefield Wasn't Built in a Day'. Michael's book had been published in the mortal world too, and when it had been up for reviews Jason had snatched it. He had simply been the one to point out that Mitchell was the worst character of all, for judging and shaming the people who he was said to love. Whilst everyone was grieving the fact he lost his friends, Jason felt he got what he deserved.

In real life though, Michael- Jason stopped himself He would not let himself think of that. He had been blocking it out all summer, he could continue. "Thanks," he said when his phone went off. He was expecting something work-related, some sort of e-mail. The group had kind of split up, fallen apart. So seeing Nico's Caller ID was a big surprise.

 _'Reyna is officially missing. She was supposed to be back one week ago. Sending a location ASAP.'_

"Er…" Jason paused. "Since I have two days left of this job, I'm going to need my vacation days now."

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Now, I could give this back to you," Sally said, holding Percy's phone in his hand. He sat on the couch with Paul, both watching her. "But if I do, how do I know you won't use it to help you go missing for a fourth time?"

Percy swallowed, mentally counting. Calypso's Island, Camp Jupiter, Spain. Sounds about right. "Okay the first time, I was almost dead," Percy huffed, "the second time I had no memories and the third time… well, I was almost dead again. And broken-hearted. And I sent you postcards."

"I wouldn't back-chat if I were you," Sally said, shaking her head. Percy didn't reply. She handed him his phone.

She had been banning it all summer after she grounded him. No phone, no social media, no outside, and no fun. But it had been kind of fun. Playing videogames with Paul, getting visited by Tyson, he was allowed to take Mrs O'Leary for a walk, baking, sleeping. It had genuinely been a calm, relaxed summer. Just what he needed. Besides, people were allowed to visit from Camp Half-Blood, Piper, Leo, Rachel, Grover. Even Clarrisse had visited once.

He was feeling so much better. About everything that happened. He still thought it sucked that Michael was stuck in a mental institution, and that he hadn't heard from any of his college friends, or New Roman friends all summer. But things were getting better. He felt more relaxed about returning, more confident in his courses, and he was even considering possibly paths for him and Annabeth to travel down.

He felt that when they went back, their break apart would be coming to a close. He just couldn't wait to have her in his arms again.

Whilst others may have spent that summer sun tanning, Percy spent it recovering and planning. Preparing himself to return.

"So, what you're saying is," Percy mused, "you want me to go back to college and be boring?" Sally crossed her eyes and gave him that menacing glare that threatened your life without and words. Paul looked away. He was familiar with glare.

"What I'm saying," she said, "is that you're to go back to college and focus on passing." She then sighed. "But no, you're not boring. You were made to be anything but boring. You were made to be…" there was a pause and Paul and Percy both expected her to say something sentimental. "… a giant pain in my ass." Percy laughed.

"Well you're going to have to figure out a new way to punish me," he laughed, leaning forward and switching on his phone for the first time in weeks. "Because I just turned 21 so you can't keep taking my phone."

She raised an eyebrow and looked like she was excepting a challenge. "I can and I will," she said, smacking him lightly across the top of his head. "Because I'm your mother. And if you fake your death when you're forty, you'll still be grounded."

"Good to know," he said, rolling her eyes.

She shook her head at him. "Yeah, it should be good to know," she growled right when his phone went off. His eyebrows knitted together. Everyone knew his phone was unreachable over the summer, they would know better than to text him. Besides, the group had kind of split up, fallen apart. So seeing Nico's Caller ID was a big surprise.

 _'Reyna is officially missing. She was supposed to be back one week ago. Sending a location ASAP.'_

Percy looked up at his mother. "Talking about life never being boring, I have to go a little early."

-0-0-0-0-0-

"The pills, they make my mouth really dry," Michael was saying. He sat across from Camille in the visitation room, shaking slightly as they spoke. "So I drink a lot of water. It's like a cleanse. Because the pills make my mouth super dry."

"That's nice," Camille nodded, absent-mindedly. "So the nurse told me that I'm the only person you'll speak to. Why is that?"

Michael paused before leaning in. "You're the only one I can trust!"

"Oh Jesus Christ," she said, looking up at the ceiling. "You really are nuts, you pour soul."

Michael just rolled his eyes. "No, I mean, with my book," he said. "Remember, the book I'm writing? I need an ending. Something big and I need you to do all of my spying for me because I can't leave here!"

"Okay, no," Camille said. "Your whole book thing is really getting old, Michael. I'm over it. Hell, even the characters are over it. And you already wrote it. You're only looking for an ending because you've gone loony tunes."

"I'm talking about the sequel," he snapped, as if Camille was being particularly dumb that day. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap. It's the pills, you know? They make my mouth really dry. And they won't let you have gum." He paused, as if it was a ridiculous rule. " _What_ is the deal with that?"

Camille blinked. "Okay, look," she said. "I don't give two craps about your sequel. We are done here. Completely. We partnered up last year with a mutual goal in mind, but you know what? I'm over it." He gave her a disbelieving look. "I am," she exclaimed. "And I think you know why."

"So that's it?" Michael asked. "One minor slip and you're out of business."

"Yes," she said, confidently. "I always said a woman shouldn't have to choose between manipulative plots and… well… but sometimes, people do have to choose. And for once, I'm choosing right."

"I don't believe you," Michael said.

She smirked. "Fine. I do have one thing. You know Reyna's been gone all summer. Now I know where she is. All I'm going to do is pay a visit, see the gossip and then leave. And after that, I will have nothing to do in the lives of any of them."

It was at that point that her phone ran with a text message alert from inside her bag. She held up her finger to Michael and read the text, rolling her eyes at the di Angelo boy. ' _Tell me where Reyna is, or this goes viral:'_

Beneath the text was a video, showing briefly some of the horrible things she had done.

Camille did not break her smile. She looked up at Michael ever so sweetly. "I'm taking a few friends," she added. "Goodbye Michael. Probably for good." She blew him a kiss on the way out.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Four passports. Four different names, four different picture, all travelling from four different locations. All going to the same place – Seattle. Three of the four passport owners had gotten back in touch and arranged a meeting point at the destination. The other passport owner was planning on surprising them.

Jason was the first person to arrive. He hadn't even gotten the chance to change out of his work clothes when he got to the small diner. He ordered a black coffee and checked his phone. No new updates.

Percy arrived next and immediately, him and Jason hugged. He ordered a hot chocolate and sat opposite Jason before asking what the hell was up with the suit. Then he asked Jason is there were any updates.

Finally, Annabeth arrived, just after their drinks came. Percy stood up to wrap his arms around her and she kissed his cheek before sitting down and ordering a latte. She asked Jason why he was wearing a suit and then asked if there were any updates.

"Nico just texted me the address," Percy said, at one point. "Jason, can you call a cab?"

It wasn't too long before they were filing into the back of a yellow car, squished against each other as Percy discussed the destination with the driver. "She's got to be okay, right?" Annabeth asked. "I mean, it's Reyna, for Gods sakes"

"I'm sure she's fine," Percy said "It's not like her to do something ridiculous or dangerous."

"Who knows what's like her anymore?" Jason asked. "Having Michael turn on her like that, having all the crap said to her and about her and then seeing Michael locked up and soulless… that had more of an effect on her than she led us to believe." He was clearly the most worried out of the three of them, looking on edge and slightly shaky when he spoke.

When the driver pulled over, it was just outside a forest. "Follow that pathway," he ordered as they got out. Percy closed the last door and when they turned to the path, their faces paled. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Camille was in her usual pencil skirt and blouse but wore flats instead of heels. "I'm purely here to get the gossip," she mused. "Don't worry, your threat last year didn't go unnoticed. I'm not here to wreak havoc, I just want to know what's going on."

"Well it's none of your business," Annabeth said. "So go back to your hotel."

"Actually, I think I'd rather come with you," she said, following them as they started down the pathway.

"Whatever happened to Jesus?" Percy asked. "You were such a better person when religious. I miss those days like crazy."

"Jesus and I still get along," Camille said. "We just have re-established our relationship."

"You mean he dumped you because he found out you were Satan!" Annabeth exclaimed, angrily.

Percy raised his hands in an attempt to be soothing. "Okay, let's try and refrain from calling people Satan," Percy said, calmly. "Camille, you're not friend with Reyna, seeing you will only upset her."

"She's not some wounded animal," Camille said. "I'm just looking for a neat little ending to this whole story."

"Well a neat little ending of you being rid from our lives would suffice," Jason said, rolling his eyes. "So why don't you take out threat last year to heart and… leave us alone?"

Camille paused, looking him up and down. "Why are you wearing a suit?"

"For the love of Jupiter," Jason whispered to himself, stretching his eyes as he looked up to the clouds, as if asking his father 'why do you stick me with this nonsense?' "I don't really think it's any of your business Camille."

"Okay, well, to answer your question," she said, following them on the rocky, uneven pathway, "it would have a much more fun ending if Reyna had run away and built an entirely new life for herself."

"Somehow I doubt that's the case," Annabeth said.

Percy paused. "Seriously, though, what's up with the suit?"

Jason groaned. "I had a summer job, okay? A journalism's office in Charleston. I didn't get the chance to change out of work clothes when I ran to the airport. I'm not exactly wearing it because it's comfortable, so it's going to be gone as soon as possible. Now can we please move on?"

Annabeth, Percy and Jason were much too interested with finding Reyna that they didn't insist Camille leaves. They managed to ignore her for most of the walk, and most of the walk was, well, an hour long. They were heading further and further into a countryside, and it worried them. After about an hour, of walking, Annabeth stopped. "Is anyone else beginning to think that cab driver was a monster?"

Jason paused. "We got out of the cab an hour ago, and you're expressing your worries now?"

"Well he set us off into a forest, and we've been walking for an hour," Annabeth huffed. "We gave him an address, and at this rate, we'll be lucky if we find a freaking tent! Who vote on quitting and going back to a hotel? I'm almost positive Reyna isn't here."

"I agree," Camille sighed. "Let's go back."

"Literally nobody asked for your opinion," Annabeth said, refusing to even look at her.

"But I'm agreeing with you!" Camille exclaimed.

"Well I don't need you to!"

"Wait!" Percy said, interrupting their bickering. Something caught his eye a little further down the pathway and he ran off to go and inspect it. Annabeth rolled his eyes and followed him, Jason running after them. Camille walked along behind.

"Oh my Gods," Annabeth said. They had arrived at a clearing, in which was a large white mansion, half the walls looking like they were made out of glass. There were a lot of people in and around the mansion, carrying food and trays and boxes and flowers. "Do we really think Reyna's here?"

They all walked up to the nearest door as a group. Jason knocked and they waited. It was made of glass so they could see a kitchen inside. A plump woman in an apron moved over to answer it, looking confused at the group. "Estás invitado?" she asked.

The paused. "Anybody speak Dutch?" Camille asked.

"That's Spanish," Annabeth exclaimed, "you ignorant dumbass!" She turned back to the woman and smiling, trying to remember some of the words she had picked up whenever Reyna spoke her Native Language. "Mirando… Reyna?" She hoped she said something about looking for Reyna.

"Hola," Camille added, unhelpfully.

"Hola," the woman nodded.

"Nuestro amigo no se encuentra," Percy said, very fluently. "Trenza larga, ojos oscuros. La nombran Reyna." Everybody looked at Percy in surprise and he just shrugged. "You guys are forgetting that I spent three months building a life for myself in Spain."

"No reconozgo el nombre," the woman said, directing it to Percy. "Pero se puede pedir a la novia."

Percy looked really confused by that statement. "Does it not translate?" Jason asked him, as his eyebrows knitted together.

"It translates," Percy said. "She said she doesn't know a Reyna, but we could ask the-"

"Reyna!" Annabeth exclaimed. Reyna had just walked into the kitchen behind the woman and was inspecting a basket of strawberries. She turned to the group when Annabeth exclaimed her name, and her face fell. So did Jason's jaw.

She was wearing a long white dress with a tight torso and a flowy skirt that fell in folds to the floor. The white faded into more of a gold near the bottom of the dress. Annabeth could tell by how she walked that she was wearing high heels. Her hair was out of its usual plait and fell in thick waves. There was a decoration braid across the top of her head, like a hair tiara.

Reyna lead the group to a large sitting room near the kitchen, her dress flowing around her ankles as she walked. "What the hell are you doing here?" she demanded. Her heels clicked on the hardwood floor as she walked. The sitting room was pretty small for a mansion, with two white sofas, a glass table, a few bookshelves, whit carpet. One wall was made entirely out of glass, so they could see out into the large clearing as a group of people walked past carrying chairs.

"Uh, looking for you?!" Annabeth said, following in after her.

"To observe and record," Camille smiled, walking in after Annabeth.

"No," Jason said. "We're here to help you!" He glared at Camille.

"And get you home," Percy added. "And nobody really knows why Camille is here."

On that note, Annabeth put her hands on Camille's shoulders and shoved her out of the room, closing the door so she couldn't get back in. "Can't you see there's a party going on?" Reyna asked. "And you guys are not invited?"

"Crashing parties is one of our favourite pastimes," Percy reminded her.

"Especially," Camille exclaimed, bursting the door open and walking back in, "when it includes infiltrating a sophisticated yet deadly cult! Now where is the satanic leader?"

Reyna looked confused. Then she looked up at the ceiling, as if praying. "Please leave before it's too late," she said.

"Reanna?!" called a voice from another room.

"Reanna," Annabeth muttered, smiling sarcastically at Reyna, as if there was nothing wrong with her going by that name.

"Too late," Reyna whispered to herself. The man that walked into the room couldn't have been much older than they were and was pretty handsome. He wore a silver suit and bowtie and had curly black hair and blue eyes.

"Reanna, you didn't tell me you invited friends," he grinned, wrapping an arm around her waist. Reyna grinned at him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"That is _so_ Reanna," Annabeth smirked.

"She's full of surprises," Jason said, studying the body language between Reyna and the mystery guy, trying to determine their relationship.

"She has so many surprises, you could write a book about them," Camille added, grinning.

"We hope you don't mind us dropping by," Percy said, leaning forward to shake his hand.

"Lewis," the man introduced, leaning forward and taking Percy's hand, separating from Reyna. "And of course not. The more the merrier on this special day. Please, stay and be a part of it. Although, you're a little underdressed."

"Reanna told us so last minute that we didn't have time to change," Annabeth said. "Will it be a problem?" Jason was looking pretty smug in his suit about that.

"No, not at all," Lewis smiled.

Reyna looked up at Lewis. "How about we get my friends some drinks then?"

-0-0-0-0-0-

Reyna went somewhere with Lewis, and Annabeth, Percy, Camille and Jason found themselves outside. There was a flight of steps to descend to get from the mansion to the clearing. People were stood around, mostly in long dresses and suits, drinking champagne and laughing. There were pretty elaborate decorations and a few people were setting up chairs.

"This is so much worse than we thought," Camille said.

"Because you're here?" Annabeth asked. "I agree."

"Why do you say that?" Percy asked, standing next to Annabeth and holding her hand. "It's a nice house… seems like a nice guy." They turned to Jason, afraid to see how he'd react to that statement.

There was a very real possibility that Reyna was in a relationship with Lewis, after all. But instead of Percy, Jason was paying attention to the movements of the crowd. "Chairs," he mused, "canopy, champagne." He noticed one man in the crowd and pointed to him. "Reverend. This is a wedding."

Annabeth paused, her face falling. "And Reyna was wearing a white dress!" she said, shocked. They could all understand Reyna's desire to get away, but this was something nobody expected her to do. Get married? To a complete stranger? Who didn't even know her real name?

Whilst three of them were freaking out a little, Camille couldn't care less. "She's either the bride," she said, matter-of-factly, "or she's just really tacky."

* * *

 **A/N: SURPRISE. Bet you weren't expecting that? So welcome to the start of their last year in college. This year is definitely going to be much less dramatic and more fluffy than previous years. And more supernatural. But first we have to finish off this piece of drama. But I promise, everything's going to be back where is should be very soon.**

 **As for Michael and Camille, their stories here are coming to an end. Camille's out of the drama, and you'll find out why next chapter. Michael appears in two (I think) chapters this year, both of which are angsty.** **I just kind of want to spend this last year making the characters have more fun. Whilst their will be a big dilemma, it'll hopefully be pretty funny instead of angsty.**

 **Loved reading the reviews! Jeyna happens next chapter (I loved making you wait), Nico's still going to be incorporated a lot. No, 'too British' is not a bloody thing xD jk.**

 **Azure Moonlight: Aw, you make me blush. Thank you, so much. (I haven't been able to use my e-mails in a while, so if you sent me something I haven't seen it yet)**

 **I love you guys! Please leave me feedback! -Izzy**


	32. Chapter 32

**CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO:** _Borrowed, Blue,_ _Something Old and Something New_

The group still stood on the steps leading down to the wedding venue. They were all shocked after the realisation and none more so than Jason. Annabeth put a comforting hand on his shoulder, but before she could say anything, Camille spoke.

"I told you, she's obviously had a psychotic break," she exclaimed. "Reyna's taken too many happy pills and now she thinks she's Reanna from Michael's book."

"That," Percy said, his voice mildly worried, "actually sounds vaguely possible."

"Or today's the day of the cult sacrifice," Camille mused, thoughtfully. She craned her neck to look over the countryside. "And since I don't see any volcanoes in the area, I wonder if they're burning her at the stake?"

"Now you lost me," Percy said.

"Whatever is going on," Annabeth interfered, "we can't let Reyna marry this guy! Time for a plan." All eyes on her. They wouldn't need her extreme Athena-brain plans, but she was still the boss, so they all prepared to do what she said. Even Camille. "Percy, call Nico, tell him we found Reyna and we're bringing her home. Also… say that a rehab may be in order, so think about preparing a bed on further notice."

"Got it," Percy said, pulling his phone out and walking a little away from the group.

"Jason and I will try and get her alone," Annabeth said. "We're closest to her. It's the best chance we have of breaking through to her."

"Aren't you forgetting someone?" Camille asked, near her ear.

Annabeth sighed, restraining from looking at her. "Trying to," she replied.

"You're probably right," Camille sighed. Jason started walking down to the venue to look around for Reyna, leaving Annabeth and Camille alone. "I'm not really feeling up to a super-secret mission, especially not with you." Annabeth narrowed her eyes. "I'm not even here to help, I couldn't care less what happens to-"

She was interrupted by Annabeth slapping her across the face. Much more lightly than she could, of course, but just hard enough to get her message across. "What the hell is wrong with you?" she demanded.

Camille looked confused. "Apart from the fact that my face now hurts?"

-0-0-0-0-0-

Reyna stood with Lewis near the buffet as he poured a glass of champagne for them each. "Everything okay?" he asked her, handing her the champagne flute and smiling kindly at her. "You seem nervous."

Reyna shook the feeling off before smiling at him. "It's just a lot of pressure," she sighed, swiping a strand of hair behind her ear. "And I want everything to be perfect, so… But when do we get to escape this crowd and be alone? That's all I care about."

Lewis grinned at her and they gave each other a one armed hug, sipping their drinks. "Not soon enough," he laughed, straightening his bowtie. "But um, I imagine you want to spend some time with your friends." Reyna's face fell at the mention of them. "So did they go to college with you in Nebraska?"

Reyna nodded, faking a smile. "Yeah, they did. And I'm so sorry I didn't tell you I invited them! It must have slipped my mind with all this going on!"

"It's okay, it's fine," he grinned. "I'll see you out there."

"Okay," she smiled. He kissed her cheek before departing towards the Reverend.

Reyna turned her attention to the buffet and tried to clear her head, but before she really could, another voice joined her. "Nebraska?" it asked. Reyna looked up to see Camille walking toward her. "Seriously? Have you ever actually been there? Do you even know where that is on a map?"

"What I do know is," Reyna said, putting her hands on her hips, "that you're not welcome here. Out of everyone who's not welcome here, you the least. You hate me, hate all of us, and last year we told you to stay away from us. Do I need to enforce that rule?"

"Does Lewis actually care about you?" Camille asked, ignoring her completely. "Or Reanna? The bitchy mean girl from Michael's book?"

Reyna gritted her teeth, leaning forward menacingly. "I am not going to let you ruin this day," she growled under her breath.

Camille paused before smirking. "Reyna, I'm not here to ruin your big day," she promised, airily. "Honestly, I hope you do marry this guy. It'll be just the kind of desperate, attention-seeking stuff that'll prove you're every bit as shallow and sad as the character in Michael's book, so-"

She was interrupted by Reyna slapping her across the face, not as hard as she could but hard enough to get her message across. Camille paused. "Okay, I deserved _that_ one," she nodded.

Reyna looked disgusted. She looked down to grab her champagne glass and clutch bag, and when she looked back up, she was more confused than ever. "Wait," she said, as if just realising what Camille had said. " _Marry_ him?" she scoffed. "Lewis?"

Camille nodded, beginning to look confused at Reyna's confusion.

"Yes, because Lewis is so straight," Reyna said, sarcastically. "You guys all think this is my wedding?"

-0-0-0-0-0-

"How'd it go?" Percy asked, walking up to Annabeth, who was waiting near the seats as everybody was sitting down. She looked stressed and had put her hair up in a ponytail.

"Bad," she said. "Jason and I split up, so I can only hope that he found her," she said. "And you?"

"Nico's got a rehab on speed-dial," Percy said, "just in case."

"Bad news," said another voice. Percy and Annabeth turned to Camille, who was walking up to them with Jason on her heels. "You'll never guess what I found."

Annabeth paused. "Looks like Jason Grace, to me," she answered, unimpressed. "Jason, did you find her?"

Jason shook his head. "Is nobody going to ask what I found out?" Camille asked. Before anybody could ask, they heard a knife against a champagne glass. They all turned to see Lewis, standing on the podium and smiling.

"Can I have everybody's attention?" he asked. "Reanna, if you'd like to come up here." They saw Reyna appear from the crowd and walk up to stand next to him. Everybody had sat down, but Percy, Annabeth, Jason and Camille stood to the side, watching as Reyna plastered on a smile.

"I'm so glad that you could all be here for this special day," Lewis grinned to the crowd. "And I'm so happy to be sharing this experience with this beautiful woman here." He smiled, looking at Serena. "So let's all raise a glass-"

"No!" he was interrupted. Everybody looked around for the source. Jason and Percy looked at Camille, but it was Annabeth who spoke. "No!" she spoke again, weaving between seats. Everybody watched her confused. "We will raise nothing!" Annabeth said. She moved up the aisle, pointing at Lewis. "You cannot marry her. You don't even know her!"

"Annabeth, please," Reyna started.

"Her name's not even Reanna!" Annabeth exclaimed. "It's Reyna! Reyna!" The second time she said it, she called it out to the crowd of people, sat in the chairs, waiting for a wedding.

"And that's not all!" Camille exclaimed, standing next to Annabeth.

"What are you doing?" Annabeth asked. "I've got this."

"Public humiliation's more my forte," Camille grinned, facing the crowd. "Reyna has a history of mental imbalance, drug use-"

"Okay, that's also a lie," Annabeth said, pointing at Camille. "But Reyna is-"

"What the bloody hell is going on?!" yelled a voice. Everyone turned to the steps, where a woman who looked very much like Reyna stood in a golden gown and veil. She was growling down at Annabeth and Camille, who jumped at the sight.

"Annabeth, meet my sister," Reyna sighed. "She's the bride of the wedding you are interrupting."

Annabeth's face fell. "Oh."

It didn't take long after that for Reyna to push Camille and Annabeth away from the alter and to get things back on track. She explained after the ceremony that Hylla was marrying one of the workers at Amazon, called Caleb. He was sweet and Reyna liked him. Lewis was Caleb's younger brother, who was the best man. That's why they had been so involved. Best Man and Maid-of-Honour always had to work together, but Lewis was still very gay.

Reyna also explained the fact that Hylla was wearing gold because it represented her reign as queen, and also, Hylla didn't see herself as pure enough to wear white. So they bridesmaids and Maid-of-Honour did. Reyna further explained that she was going by the name of Reanna to most of the guests as she was trying to stay hidden from her college friends.

"Guys, I'm like, a week late," she told them. "I stayed longer for the wedding! Sound the alarms!"

-0-0-0-0-0-

Soon after the ceremony ended, they all started the wedding party. The chairs were moved out of the way do they could all reuse the hardwood floor that had been laid down for dancing. Laser lights moved all over the clearing and people moved around, dancing and having fun. People drank champagne and made toasts and spun around.

Camille watched it all from the side-lines, avoiding the champagne and feeling cold. She thought about going inside. Nobody wanted to talk to her or dance with her. Until, Percy walked up and sat by her. "You looked lonely," he said. He sat on the grass next to her chair as night began to fall around them.

"I am lonely," she said.

Percy paused. "Thank you," he told her. She looked at him, very confused. "You came with us today. You helped us, even though you didn't have to. Even though you claimed not to be helping us, you still helped. And you barely wrecked any havoc, so thanks."

She smirked. "Havoc is in my past," she told him. "As well as our friendship. Because I ruined that, too."

He paused again. "It wasn't your fault," he told her. "It was Michael's. Besides, I'm not entirely innocent in all of this."

"I can tell you don't believe me," she smiled, as if it didn't bother her. "But I really loved you once. And I really was your friend. And I meant what I said. No more havoc, or scheming. It's all over for me."

"Why?" he asked. "You love plotting against us. Why change that now?"

She sighed, looking down and smiling slightly. "I met someone," she told him. Percy raised his eyebrows. "Some guy over the summer. He was mortal, and he was cute. We hooked up. It didn't mean anything, and he left me the morning after."

Percy blinked. "And this is a good story because…?"

"He vanished," she said. "Off the face of the Earth. I have no way of finding him, and he wanted it that way. But he left me with something before he left." She looked into his eyes and he noticed tears in hers. "A reason to be good."

"I don't get it," he said, blankly.

She giggled. "I'm pregnant," she said. "And I don't want my baby to do evil stuff that will make all the other babies hate her. I want her to have a good role model."

Percy's face fell. "Are you serious?" he scoffed.

She nodded. "Yeah, I am. Michael knows. Nobody else." She reached into her bag and pulled out a pretty old phone. "This was Octavian's," she told him. "It's all I have left of him." She handed it over to Percy.

"I couldn't," he said, in disbelief.

"Every time I look at this phone," she told him, "I get controlled by this need for revenge. I hate my heritage. Please, take it. I don't want it anymore. And I'm considering joining the Amazons. Men are pigs."

Percy sighed before taking the phone. "I knew you had a redeeming quality," he sniggered. "You're going to make a great mother, Camille. Evil or not."

She smiled. "I'm going to be running far away from love for a while," she said. "But you… maybe you should start running towards it." She looked up at Annabeth, who was standing on the steps, leading up to the mansion.

Percy nodded and wished Camille a goodnight before going up and talking to Annabeth. She must have seen him approaching her, but she didn't acknowledge him until he was right next to her. "Dance with me," he asked

"What's the point, Percy?" she asked, her head snapping round to face him. She looked back at the happy couple, the bride and groom, spinning around on the dance floor, so happy and content in each other's arms. "I'm starting to doubt we'll ever be them."

"Well you shouldn't," he said. "You shouldn't doubt us, because I still have hope. Hope is keeping me going." He paused, waiting for her to speak, but she didn't. "But even if we were never them," he continued, "I wouldn't change us for the world." She looked at him, confused and sad. "Not if it meant losing what we have," he continued, looking into her eyes.

"And what do we have, Percy?" she asked, crossing her arms as she faced him. Her hair looked silver in the moonlight, and nobody seemed to care that they were underdressed for a wedding. "You tell me."

He paused, looking around. "Tonight," he said. "So shut up! And dance with me."

Annabeth actually smiled as a new song came on. Percy held up his hand and lead her out onto the dancefloor, spinning her around before they got into position. They had only waltzed a couple times before, but to them it was as easy as breathing. It was the kind of dance that Percy needed to be in a suit for, and Annabeth needed to be in a long dress for, but they weren't. They may well have been though. In each other's eyes, they were as radiant as the Gods themselves.

"You look stunning, by the way," he said. "If it wasn't obvious."

"Thank you," Annabeth laughed, grinning. "I got so done-up for this wedding, and I was afraid nobody would notice."

Percy remembered that night when they spoke again, the first time after she found out he hadn't cheated. The first thing he said was: "I bet there's probably a million people you'd rather be here with." He said is allowed as he remembered it. Annabeth smirked when she heard it for the second time.

"Not exactly," she whispered, leaning into him. "This break… I don't think it changed anything for me. Because I'm also not sure the break up changed anything for me. I never stopped loving you, Percy."

"I know that," he replied. "And I love you more and more every day, if it's even possible to love someone that much-" he was interrupted by her kissing him.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Soon the party ended. Hylla and her new husband left in a limo, decorated in 'Just Hitched' graffiti. Lewis kindly arranged a couple rooms for all of Reyna's friends, but instead of going to sleep, Jason went to go and find Reyna. The Mansion was huge and Jason got lost three times. In a fancy bathroom, a guest bedroom and in a room so overly decorated with different coloured powders and glosses, that he could only assume was the bridesmaids dressing room.

Finally, he found the main kitchen. The staff had all gone to bed and Reyna was stood by the counter, helping herself to a spare slice of wedding cake. "Is that new?" Jason asked, pointing to the bracelet around her wrist. It reminded him of Camp Half-Blood's necklaces, one bead for each year. She seemed to have a collection of spherical charms on the silver chord.

She turned when she heard him and started cutting him a slice of cake. "I got it at the beginning of the summer," she said. "Each bead represents a country I've been to. I want to visit 30 countries before I'm thirty. I managed to cover ten of them this summer."

She had changed from the long dress and heels into pyjama shorts and an oversized Camp Jupiter t-shirt. The purple made her look younger, like the same Reyna she was when they were kids, before he ever went missing. Unfortunately, he looked so different. He hadn't had anything to change into, so he still wore the suit pants and shirt, but he had discarded the tie and blazer, and had rolled up his sleeves.

Reyna couldn't help but think he looked so… adult. And it didn't suit him. When she thought of Jason, she thought jeans and camp t-shirt, sword at his belt, maybe flying, the scar on his lip twitching as he smiled at her.

"I want to apologise," he said, taking the slice of cake she offered him.

"About today?" she asked, leaning against the counter, pretty angrily. "I'm not in the mood to relive today. It was humiliating enough the first time around; I just want to let it drop."

"Not about today," he told her. "That was mostly Annabeth and Camille's doing, so I'm going to claim innocence on that."

Reyna furrowed her eyebrows together, looking very confused. "Then what do you want to apologise for?" she asked.

"Everything else," he told her. Then he took a deep breath. "I'm sorry I went missing. I'm sorry I came back with another girl. I'm sorry it took me so long to realise that I shouldn't be with her, I should be with you. I'm sorry I ignored you. I'm sorry you thought you were in the wrong when you dated Michael, and I'm sorry for what he did to you." He paused and Reyna looked like she was in a state of disbelief. "And I'm sorry that this relationship has been so hard on the both of us." She blinked, trying to find the right words to say. "Most of all, I'm sorry I gave up on us, when you never did."

"I don't know what you want me to say," she muttered, defeated.

He smiled. "You don't have to say anything."

She paused, walking closer to him. "Well… maybe actions will speak for me." Before he could ask what she meant by that, she closed the gap between them, leaning up to kiss him.

* * *

 **A/N: So I've literally been waiting 32 chapter to finally get Jason and Reyna together. I just had so much fun dragging it out as much as I could. And Percabeth. And now Camille's storyline has come to a close. She's getting rid of the evil to make way for the good. I might do a little bit more with her friendship with Percy and make sure she's on good terms with the others before this story ends, but overall, she's no longer the bad guy.**

 **theothergirl13: Take a really good look at the description for this story. Not to be sarcastic.**

 **PLEASE REVIEW PLEASE ily -Izzy**


	33. Chapter 33

**CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE:** _PTSD's a Bitch_

After that, it was a short plane ride back to San Francisco. Reyna and Jason sat together, holding hands but otherwise refusing to make eye contact or talk. They had nothing really to say. They kept glancing at each other before looking immediately away. They were finally a couple. What now?

A couple seats back though, Percy and Annabeth would not stop talking. Annabeth had a list of everything they needed to do not that they were a couple again, things that included bedroom redecoration and bed sharing. "Maybe we should take a couples cooking class," she mused. "No that's lame. Or is it? It's our last year of college, we should do something fun… maybe pottery?"

Camille was asleep a few seats behind. When they all arrived home, they filed into the apartment and dropped their bags. Reyna demanded a major clean up, and nobody refused. They had been gone all summer and now, they had the dust to show for it. Annabeth flung open the windows and Jason and Percy attacked the living room with a duster and vacuum. Annabeth then started on the kitchen as Reyna went out onto the balcony and dealt with a spider that had made its home there.

There was a situation while cleaning. Before summer, Percy had accidently left a half-eaten bowl of cereal at the end of Jason's bed, that neither of them had noticed. Three months later, it had turned into a houseplant.

"Why didn't you just finish the cereal?" Annabeth demanded.

"The cereal at the bottom gets soggy," he complained, looking disgusted.

"I know how cereal works," she exclaimed. "Now, clean the damn bowl."

He looked at her as if she was insane. "I'm not touching that, it's disgusting!" There was a lot of argument about who should touch it. Reyna ended up carrying the bowl, as she was wearing rubber gloves, to the garbage disposal outside and chucked the entire thing out, bowl and everything.

"There, it's gone," she sighed, turning back to the other three. "It never happened."

The next few days were very peaceful and the group fell into a sane routine. Their courses started up again. Each day they would go to lectures, do their coursework, eat take-out every evening in front of the television. Sometimes Reyna would cook or Percy would bake, but most days they didn't have enough time.

They got their heads down and studied hard. Their finals were at the end of that year and they didn't want to screw that up. Studying, friendship, happiness… that was something they could get used to.

-0-0-0-0-0-

One this Reyna could not get used was waking up in the same bed as Jason Grace. Maybe because it wasn't her favourite experience in the world. Sure, having Jason's arm draped over her when she woke up was great, but her instincts were to fight, so she had to remember – the second she woke up – that Jason was supposed to be there. No, Reyna was not a 'Little Spoon'. They alternated.

Other than the arm, the closeness was great. She loved Jason, and it was great waking up so close to him. But with their arms tangled, it meant she couldn't get up in the morning without waking him. And he got so little sleep with all of his studies, that she didn't want to interrupt what sleep he did get. But Reyna had things she needed to do!

One morning, he wasn't as asleep as she thought he was. "This is hell for you, isn't it?" he mumbled sleepily.

Reyna's eyes had been wide for the last half hour. She wasn't one for sleeping in, so staying till as she thought about everything she needed to do that day. "No!" she said, as if the thought was shocking to her. "I love… everything that's happening right now!"

"Really?" he sniggered, still too tired to speak much louder than a mutter. He hadn't even opened his eyes yet that day. "You're not secretly contemplating whether or not you should kick me awake?"

"Did you say kick?" she asked. She rolled over in his arms, silently cursing the little mobility she had under the thick duvet, especially with him next to her. He opened his eyes to look at her, blinking out the light. "Or kiss?" she asked, leaning forward to kiss him.

Jason could get used to Reyna being the first thing he saw every morning, starting his day with a kiss. "Hm," he smiled when she moved away. "Kissing with morning breath isn't very hot though."

"No?" she asked, looking disbelieving. "I thought you would be into it."

They rolled out of bed and walked over to the bathroom they shared. Percy and Annabeth had their on-suite bathroom, but Reyna and Jason didn't. They brushed their teeth together and looked each other in the eye through the reflection of the mirror.

Screw raindrops on roses, Jason's eyes were Reyna's favourite things. She remembered over the summer, one hot day in Amsterdam. She was on the bank of the river, leaning on the railing in skinny jeans and high heels. She had a journal open, but wasn't writing down her inner thoughts and feelings. She was practising her descriptive writing as she looked up at the crystal clear blue sky. She described the colour, the way the sun shone down onto the city, the way she imagined what the clouds would feel like.

After a page of writing, she started describing the warmth, the safety she felt having the sky hug her, the way the blue of the sky looked at her, knowing her more than she knew herself. After two more pages, she realised she wasn't describing the sky anymore, but the person with the sky-coloured eyes.

She ended up ripping the pages out in frustration, throwing them in the bin. She had gone abroad to escape home, not write about it. But at that moment, looking in the mirror at Jason, she thought about everything she could write about him. How she could go on for pages and pages on how he smelt, the way he touched her hair, the way his scar moved when he smiled.

She shook herself out of the thought at she smiled at him. "Busy day planned?" he asked her.

"You bet," she grinned. A busy day was a good day. Pressure calmed her, activities made her feel like she was needed. "I'm helping to organise a community fundraiser this morning. Then I have a lecture at two, and then I have an appointment with a potential colleague before a Harrington House meeting tonight – which I shouldn't be telling you about. Today is a good day. You?" She said all of this while beaming, looking forward to clipboards and paperwork and having something to do. Something Reyna hated more than anything was being bored.

"I don't know," Jason shrugged. "Percy's free all day, so I'll find something to do with him. Good Luck!"

"You're the one spending the day with Percy," Reyna said. "I think you'll need that luck more than I do."

-0-0-0-0-0-

When Percy woke up he immediately stretched out, trying to find Annabeth in the mass of pillows and duvet. They had spent the time turning their bedroom into their sanctuary, their place, where they could feel completely comfortable and safe. The place where they regained their strength and the place where they knew they were okay.

That bedroom was supposed to be the place they felt the most at home. When something bad happened, that was the room they were supposed to go to, to get over it. To feel better. Their sanctuary. But when Percy woke, he couldn't find Annabeth in the same bed as him.

He sat up, opening his eyes to look around desperately. She was sat at the desk, against the wall, typing frantically. "Stop it," she ordered.

"Stop what?" he asked, confused.

"Staring at me," she grumbled. "Go find something to do."

He raised an eyebrow. "I'm gazing," he corrected. "It's romantic."

"It's creepy," she said.

"What are you doing?" he grumbled, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

Annabeth turned back to look at him. "I have this essay due before noon, and I'm just editing it," she explained. She was wearing pyjama shorts, but Percy could barely see them. There were concealed by his over-sized blue hoodie. Her hair was down, falling in messy curls around her face.

"How long is it going to take you to finish editing?" he asked, lying back down and sighing.

"Percy," she said, seriously. "I'm busy."

"But I'm cute," he said. He pulled his cutest face with biggest puppy-dog eyes. "Look at how cute I am!"

She turned to him, doubtfully before sighing. She paused, thinking. "Brush your teeth and run some soap over your face," she mused. "I should be finishing up by that point."

Percy practically fell out of bed, running towards the bathroom as fast as he could. He washed up and ran back. Annabeth had moved and he found her in the kitchen, opening a packet of bagels. He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He kissed her cheek and she turned to him. "Do you remember the first time Jason walked in on us?" she asked.

He grinned. "I think I did something like this," he said, holding her waist and pulling her forward to kiss him. She put her hands on either side of his face and kiss him back.

"I think I did this," she mused, running her hand through his hair.

"And then I did this…" he picked her up and she wrapped her legs around him. He sat her down on the counter of the kitchen as they made out. "I love you, Wise Girl," he whispered between kisses.

"I love you too, Seaweed Brain," she replied.

Scientists estimated that the odds of you being born is 1 in 400 trillion. That is a big number. Annabeth wondered what the odds were of having both her and Percy being born. 1 in 800 trillion was her first guess, but then she remembered that Percy wasn't even supposed to be born. He only was because Poseidon broke the rules, and the odds of him doing that was incredibly low.

So despite the odds of being alive at the same time was incredibly low, Annabeth wondered how low the odds were that they were born in the same country, that they even met. And she came up with an odd that was so incredibly low, she couldn't even think of a number, yet there they were, somehow lucky enough to be alive at the same time.

"I missed this," Percy mumbled, holding her close to him. "I miss us. It was so hard staying away."

She grinned. "How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard?" she quotes, remembering how she heard that line over the summer and thought of Percy.

He immediately thought it was said by some famous scholar or poet, or some epic person in history, who changed the world. Someone Annabeth would be fascinated in, as she wouldn't settle for anything less than extraordinary.

"Who said that?" he asked.

"Winnie The Pooh," she grinned, smiling as she leaned back in for another kiss.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The room had bare walls, a boring, beige colour. There was a thin metal bed in the centre of the room with a thin mattress, duvet and pillow, all with boring white sheets. There was an armchair in one corner near a window, covered with metal bars, and a desk in one corner with a wooden chair. It was so lifeless and empty, almost as much as the patient.

Michael wore a grey t-shirt and jogging trousers, a thin cardigan thrown on. He was pale and his eyes were glassy. He didn't speak, or even look at her. Reyna sat in the wooden desk chair, facing Michael who was sat on the bed, lazily. She flicked through the magazine on the desk, the only source of entertainment the patients could get.

"Birds, birds, birds," Reyna mused, flicking the pages. "I mean, how are you supposed to go bird watching from in here?" She looked up at Michael, who didn't pay any attention to her. She sighed, standing up and moving to sit on his bed, facing him. "Are you just going to look right through me forever?" she asked, sadly.

He still didn't take any notice of her. She tried not to feel too bad about it. He wasn't talking to his doctors or nurses either. "It's not easy for me to come here," she said, wondering if she sounded arrogant of entitled. "I haven't told anyone I'm visiting you," she told him. "Jason, Annabeth, Nico, nobody knows I'm here. I mean, I don't plan on never telling them, but…"

She sighed and stopped talking. He didn't care about that. Or anything, it would seem. "I would have visited sooner," she mused. "I went abroad for the summer, did some writing of my own…" she trailed off, trying to laugh about it. "Too soon?"

Still no reply or acknowledgement. "I need you to understand something," she sighed, leaning forward seriously. "I am not doing this for you. I'm here for me." She was there to get some closure of the situation, some peace of mind, some clarity. "I want to know what I did to make you hate me so much," she added, her voice beginning to choke slightly.

"There are just… all these thoughts and feelings floating around my head," she said. "And it shouldn't be this hard. I don't know who I can talk to anymore. And I don't think this is ever going to go away."

After a long silence she stood up and grabbed her bag, flinging it over her shoulder and looking at him with wide eyes. She walked to the door but didn't turn away from him. "I don't think I'm going to stop visiting you," she told him. "I thought, over this summer, that if I moved on, got over you, got over what you did and what happened, then everything would be okay. And I moved on. But I don't see a happy ending coming any time soon."

He ignored her, not moving a muscle from the position he was in when she first entered the room. "What I'm trying to say is," she sighed, "is that there's no way out of this. I'm stuck with you as a part of my past. And I'm going to keep coming back until I feel better about it."

With that, she left, closing the door behind her and giving her visitors badge to a nurse on the way out.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Jason was happily living in his own world. He hit the treadmill with more energy than ever, his headphones in as he worked out. He could hear nothing but the music, feel nothing but the workout. He was completely lost in it.

After a while, he felt someone tap him on the shoulder and he jumped out of his skin, turning around angrily. "Who dares interrupt my work out?" he demanded, over-dramatically.

"Sorry if I made you jump," Percy sniggered as Jason turned off the machine.

"You could have announced yourself," Jason grumbled, sitting down next to the treadmill and graciously taking the bottle of water Percy offered him.

"Hello, I am Percy," Percy announced. "I just ran into the running room."

Jason rolled his eyes. They sat down on the floor next to the wall, which was actually just one big window on the side of the building. They didn't speak for a minute, mostly because Jason was still trying to catch his breath.

"Ew," Jason grumbled. "I said still water."

"That is still water," Percy said, pointing at the bottle in Jason's hand.

"No, it's bubbly," he sighed, putting it to one side. "But clearly you don't care enough about me to even bother trying."

"Or maybe, you need to stop and consider that you're in the wrong," Percy sniggered, turning to him. "You're too fussy. Water is water is water." With that statement a small drop of water sprang up from the bottle and hit Jason in the face. Jason shoved Percy in revenge. "And you're violent."

"Okay, okay," Jason huffed. "Are there any more flaws you'd like to point out?"

Percy paused. "I could turn that into a project," he mused. "Give me a deadline in like, a month, and I could write a book. Everything Wrong with Grace."

Jason paused, setting his iPod onto a different soundtrack. "That sounds like some anti-religion book."

"It's a work in progress," Percy snapped. Then he turned to Jason and sniggered. "I'm kidding," he grinned, nudging him. "You know you're my brother."

Jason looked confused. "That's mushy. What's put you in such a good mood?"

Percy shrugged. "I don't know," he huffed. "I'm in my senior year of college, I'm alive by some miracle, Annabeth and I are back together, for once there's no drama and everything's good. Why shouldn't I be happy?"

Jason paused, inspecting his words. "You're alive," he mused, thoughtfully. "And you're okay. Which officially makes you the strongest person I know."

There was a long silence. Percy just looked very confused, his eyebrows knitted together and a frown on his face. "I'm not strong, Jason," he murmured after a while. "There's a big difference between being happy and being strong."

"Percy, it was just over a year ago that you… well, died," he said. "Most people wouldn't recover from that. You tried to give up everything you were and you survived."

"Well I guess I am most people, because 'recovery' is not in my vocabulary," Percy muttered, fiddling with the sleeves of his jacket. "I don't remember much from that night. Well, not the reality part of it, anyway. I was so drunk that almost all I remember is the pain. But I do remember that I was cold. It was such a small factor at the time, I didn't even focus on it, barely noticed it. I was too busy trying to talk to Annabeth in a dream and trying to get over the pain."

There was a long pause as he recounted that night. Jason expected his voice to choke or his eyes to glisten with tears but they didn't. "That never went away," Percy said. "That tiny factor. I'm still cold, Jason. All the time. I'm freezing cold."

Jason didn't know what to say. He didn't have PTSD, not the way Percy did. How was he supposed to help him with that? It turns out he didn't have to, they heard a phone ring before Jason got the chance to speak. They both pulled out their phones and shrugged. "Not mine," Jason said.

"Not mine either," Percy said, looking very confused. They exchanged a brief look, knowing the ringing sound was coming from them. "Oh!" Percy exclaimed. "I know what it is." He dug around in his gym bag before pulling out a pretty old phone. Jason would have guess six years old. "Hello?" Percy asked, answering it.

"Uh huh," he said after a pause. "Right… I'll come and take a look… yeah, thanks for telling me. Okay, bye." He hung up the phone.

"What was that?" Jason asked confused.

Percy had the same expression on his face. "Camille gave me Octavian's old phone. Don't bother asking why. Did you know Octavian had a Safety Deposit Box in the bank?" Jason paused, before shaking his head. "It's been broken into," Percy said. "Something was stolen." He turned to Jason and grinned from ear to ear. "Want to check it out?"

* * *

 **A/N: Jercy's going to be a major theme for these last few chapters. Focusing on them for a bit because I really haven't done enough with them. So, I was thinking about what, sort-of fluffy dilemma I could give them for the last year, and I could only think of one thing. Instead of Gossip Girl, this last dilemma is going to be based off of my favourite episode of Supernatural.**

 **Sorry it took me so long to update, school started up again. Which reminds me, I am going to take the first three weeks of March off. As in, all of my stories are going on Hiatus for three weeks. Sorry about that. I have an exam week and I want to spend my time revising. I'm not going on Hiatus YET, but I will be at the end of February. I will hopefully have a couple more chapters up by that point.**

 **40 chapters overall, for those who don't remember. 7 chapters to go. Then a sequel of one-shots.**

 **rrrrrrrreeeeeeeevvvvvvvvvvviiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwww-Izzy**


	34. Chapter 34

**CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR:** _Luck Hurts_

"Which one of you is Octavian?" the banker said. She was middle-aged with a very tight bun at the back of her head and a grey pantsuit. She led Jason and Percy to the safety-deposit boxes, a small key in hand.

"Neither," Jason said. "He's dead. We inherit his stuff."

"Well actually his girlfriend took his stuff," Percy corrected. "She gave it to us because it was inspiring her to do evil." The woman looked at him strangely and Percy just smiled. "What exactly was stolen?"

"We make an effort to keep tracks on what people are keeping in their boxes," the banker said. "Octavian kept a lot of stuff here, as did a lot of people. But the only thing that was stolen, out of everything in the bank, was a tiny wooden box."

"A wooden box?" Percy asked. The woman opened up Octavian's safety deposit box and let them see inside. Everything was stacked neatly. Little pieces of paper, and coins and a ring. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust, except from a small patch, where the box had been. "A pretty small box."

"About the size of a match box," the woman agreed. "Except thicker. More of a cube, really."

"Do you know what was inside?" Jason asked, crossing his arms.

The banker shook her head. "No idea. When he deposited it with us he made us all promise never to open it. Never to look inside. He told us that looking inside was a life of death matter. He practically begged us to leave it alone. That's why this is such an interesting case. Because this is such an interesting item."

There was a pause as the two boys exchanged looks. "Octavian had more secrets than he led us to believe," Jason mused. "Maybe Camille knows something. Can you give her a call and ask? I know they went on a few quests together, so…"

Percy nodded. "We have a lead," the banker told them. "Shall I give you the address or take it straight to the Senate?" One thing Percy loved about New Rome was that they let them take the law into their own hands.

When they left the bank, the stood outside for a minute. Percy found Cami on his contact list and Jason crossed the street to a shop they liked to nickname "Cheapo Paninio" because they sold really cheap paninis. "A little box," Percy was saying into his phone. "About the size of a rubix cube or something."

"Oh crap," Camille whispered. "It's the Millennium Falcon."

Percy paused. "The Millennium Falcon? As in the fictional space ship in Star Wars?"

Camille was about three or four months into her pregnancy now, so she had a bump by this point. She could hide it under her blouses but it was there. "Yeah, exactly like that," she nodded. "Kind of. It's not the actually ship."

"Well that's a relief," Percy said.

"A friend of Octavian's nicknamed the box that," she explained. "He had this Star Wars fan theory that the Millennium Falcon was going to be a bomb. Anyway, when Octavian first got this box, he was so secretive and protective of it that we wondered if it was a bomb."

Percy paused. "What do you mean by secretive and protective?"

He could almost hear Cami shrug. "I don't know," she said. "He came back from this private mission holding the box. He told us we could never open it. He practically begged us. He said it was more important than anything in the world that we never opened it. And he wouldn't tell us what was inside of why we couldn't see. It was a complete mystery, to this day. I asked him thousands of times, but he never told me."

"When did he put it in the bank?" Percy asked.

"As soon as we returned home," Camille answered. "I remember what he said. _Better locked away than in some poor guy's hands_. Word for word."

That made Percy even more confused. He assumed it was some kind of weapon, but if the person who was holding it was the one in danger then… then what the hell was in that box? "Alright, thanks Cami. I'll let you know if we figure out what's in there."

He hung up as Jason crossed the road and handed Percy a ham and cheese panini. "What did Camille say?" Jason asked, moving over to sit on a nearby bench.

Percy followed. "Okay, so this box. At first she thought it was a bomb, but Octavian said something about the person who holds it being the person in danger. This is getting more and more interesting by the second."

"More and more dangerous," Jason mused. "I mean; why should we care?"

Percy paused. "There's a mysterious box that belonged to our evil nemesis, which was stolen from a very high-security bank. Why should we not care?"

Jason didn't reply for a long time. "Fine," he grumbled. "It would be nice to have something to do other than essays." Then he smiled. "And spend time with Reyna…"

"Gross," Percy said, hitting him over the shoulder as he got to his feet. "Jason Grace," he said, majestically. "To quote the ever so romantic Sherlock Holmes, will you solve crimes with me?"

"I shall, dear Watson," Jason said, getting to his feet after Percy.

"No, you're Watson," Percy said. "I'm Benedict Cumberbatch-"

"I'm just going to stop you right there," Jason said. "You've never been more wrong, and I'm going to tell you why…"

-0-0-0-0-0-

The apartment was a pigsty in every sense of the term. The couch was stained and ripped, there were a collection of empty beer bottles scattered around the place as well as old pieces of food and thus the occasional mouse. The two guys who sat there were no better. Jim and Carl were both fairly muscular, but wore sticky t-shirts and low-hanging jeans.

Jim, as the smarter of the pair, was looking frustrated at Carl. "Why not?" Carl exclaimed, rising from the couch, thinking his argument could be more valid on his feet. "Okay, we risked our necks for this woman, who won't even show us her frickin face!"

"She showed us the money," Jim shrugged. "I'm down for that."

Carl paced next to the coffee table. It wasn't like crime was a stranger to him in New Rome, in fact he was the best in the city at it. Him and Jim were sons of Mercury, so very good at thieving. And life on the streets when they were young only helped them perfect the art. Carl kept staring at the coffee table, where a little box stood. It was small and wooden, with light patterns carved into it, in the form of elephants and tiny men.

"I'm not," Carl groaned. "I wanna' know what's in that box. What's so important?!"

"That's her business, Carl," Jim said, blankly. "She paid us, we stole for her. Game over. It's not our place, and you need to stop carin'." Carl just stared at Jim, not calming down. Jim sighed. "Maybe it's an engagement ring or somethin'. Seems like the right size…?"

"It's too big for a ring," Carl said. "Look, Jimmy – if Missy is this serious about us not opening this damn box, then I bet my foot it's because it's worth more than what she's payin' us. So I reckon we should just sell it ourselves."

Jim paused before leaning forward, looking very serious. "Carl, have you ever actually met this woman? Because I 'ave. And let me tell you, you do not want to go fuckin' with her. Or her business. Just let it go, before you get us killed."

Carl rolled his eyes, falling back into the couch. "Lemme just open it," he suggested. "Lemme look inside, and if what's what if worth more than what the ladies got, we'll ask for a raise?"

Jim sighed. "Fine, whatever. You're funeral."

Carl grinned bigger than he did on Christmas, and Carl loved Christmas. "Terminus almost caught us, mind you," he said, picking the box up from the table and grinning. "This better be worth it." It wasn't.

In fact, when Carl opened the lid to the little box and looked inside, his face fell in confusion. Then disappointment, as what he saw had nothing to do with riches. No coin or jewellery, nothing metallic, nothing even of any value whatsoever. Then his expression turned to anger. The woman who had made them rob the bank, she had put their necks out for… for _that_?! _That was it?!_

"What the fuck?!" Carl exclaimed. He lifted the tiny object out of the box. Unfortunately, poor Carl was unaware that the tiny action of touching the item would lead to his inevitable death. Just by picking the item up, he had signed his contract with the grim reaper. Little did he know that if he had simply left it alone, he would be alive by the time night fell.

"What the fuck is that?" Jim sniggered, looking at the object as it lay in Carl's hand. "We did not break into a fuckin' bank for that?!"

"I think it's a-" Carl was interrupted by the front door bursting open.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Winter had fallen around New Rome. There were still some orange leaves scattered across the frosty ground, but other than that, Fall was gone. With the heat and the light. Annabeth and Reyna were forced into wearing big coats and hats, scarves and gloves. They didn't mind though. What they did mind was the fact that Jason and Percy were kind of... missing.

"I swear to all the Gods, we are going to need to find some men that don't keep getting lost," Reyna muttered. Okay, they weren't like, missing, but they hadn't checked in for a couple of hours, which is what they usually did. They weren't worried, they were just curious.

 _"What are you up to? -A"_ Annabeth texted Percy as she and Reyna walked through the courtyard of the main building. "Tell me about it," she mused. She walked along a bench in the courtyard and Reyna smirked at her immaturity.

They walked into a lecture building, putting their phones away and taking their seats. Technically, Reyna wasn't even supposed to be in that class, but she was just sitting with Annabeth for something to do.

"Reyna," chimed a voice near them. A young girl with light orange hair smiled at them. "Is it true you slept with your professor? No offence…"

"No, it's not," Annabeth said, stepping up next to Reyna and staring the girl down. "Maybe you should stop looking for facts in books written by the mentally ill."

"I wasn't asking you," the girl smirked, turning back to Reyna. "Secret's out anyway, you may as well admit it."

"I didn't," Reyna exclaimed. She was sick and tired of everybody asking her about Michael's book. Is this true? Did you really do that? Are you really with him? She was about to say something else, but Annabeth took her hand and lead her away from the fight.

"She's a bitch," Annabeth sighed. "That is, by far, the worst thing about being a girl. These bitches saying things about you, spreading rumours. It honestly is something out of _Mean Girls_. And we're in college. In our last year. I'm 22! I don't want to be in high school."

Reyna paused, sucking her teeth. "Do you remember that quote from Michael's book? The children act like adults and the adults act like children? We were made to be heroes too young, and now, we're catching up on our youth."

"Yeah, well I escaped youth for a reason," Annabeth huffed.

"Do you think this new reputation's ever going to go away?" Reyna asked, crossing her arms in frustration.

"I wouldn't bet on it," Annabeth said. "Kids don't forget things. I still have people asking me about my non-existent drug addiction. Percy's still traumatised from that night in the ally-way. Oh, speaking of the devil." She checked her phone and smirked. "Did Jason text you?"

Reyna checked her phone and grinned. "Yep," she mused. Then when she read the text her face fell. _Something happened. We need to talk. No, I don't mean that in a break-up way. Meet Percy and I at the apartment in half an hour?! -Jason xx_

Reyna paused before turning to Annabeth. "What did Percy say?" Annabeth shrugged before turning her phone so Reyna could read: _Jason and I may have fucked up. I don't actually know yet…? Meet us at the apartment in half an hour. -Percy xoxo_

Reyna and Annabeth exchanged looks. They left the boys alone for an hour or two, in hopes that they would find something to do without them. Trouble. They found trouble. Because of course they did.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Okay," Jason whispered. They were facing the door of the apartment and was preparing to knock. "I'll do the talking. I'm more diplomatic. You stand behind me and try to look menacing. Let's go."

Jason raised his hand to knock but Percy stopped him. "Whoa, wait," he said. He looked troubled. "Why do I feel like you're Batman and I'm Robin? I don't want to be Robin all the time!"

Jason just looked confused. "Neither of us are Robin or Batman any of the time," he said, as if it were a question.

Percy's face fell. "Not even some of the time?" Jason didn't reply. He just signalled for Percy to shut up and listen to the conversation going on inside.

 _"We did not break into a fuckin' bank for that?!"_ someone had exclaimed.

 _"I think it's a-"_ someone else started. Percy kicked the door in before he could finish.

Two men were inside the apartment and they turned to face Percy and Jason, looking around for a weapon. Thankfully, Terminus had at least got those away from them. "FREEZE!" Percy shouted, menacingly.

Jason glared at him, but each of the boys grabbed one of the thieves and shoved them into a wall. Jim and Carl were in shock, and couldn't defend themselves in time.

"WHERE'S THE BOX?" Percy shouted at Carl, the guy he was holding on to. "And please, _please_ tell me you didn't open it?!"

"Oh they did," Jason commented, looking at the opened box on the coffee table.

Percy sighed when he noticed it. "What was inside it?" he demanded. "Come on, what was it?!" Carl nodded to a spot on the floor, where he had dropped the object. Percy turned to look at it and paused. "Is that it?" he growled at Carl, acting kind of scary. "It is, isn't it?" He broke out of character to look back at the object and his voice went from scary to confused. "What the hell is that thing?"

Before Percy could react, Carl pushed him away. Jason ran at Carl but Carl pushed Jason into Percy and the two of them fell, landing on and breaking the coffee table. Okay, so Carl was just lucky? Nobody could really overpower two sons of the Big Three.

Percy automatically began to break the plumbing, sending a wave of water at the thieves, but the managed to dodge and the water… the water… well it fell out the window.

Percy and Jason looked at each other, confused. "What the hell?!" Percy exclaimed.

Jason paused before trying his own power. The lightbulbs exploded and the room went dark. A bolt of lightning appeared and he attempted to zap Carl. But, luckily for Carl, the lightning bounced off the mirror and hit Jason.

His lightning couldn't bounce off mirrors?! This Carl must have been extremely lucky.

Percy jumped to his feet and tried to knock Carl out. Meanwhile, Jim jumped on Jason and pinned him to the floor, wrapping his hands around Jason's throat and trying to strangle him. Percy wasn't very lucky with Carl. Carl managed to hit him so hard with only pillow, that Percy fell to the floor, a bruise already forming.

Okay, Jason knew that was impossible!

Out of the corner of his eye he noticed something on the ground. He reached out, stretching as far as he could to grab it. After that, it was incredibly easy to push Jim off him, with so much force he fell into a bookcase on the other side of the room.

"Percy, I got it," Jason called out. Carl ran at him, but he tripped over the rug and landed unconscious on the floor. Jim tried to fight, but the bookshelf fell on him, making him pass out at well.

Percy got to his feet and looked at Jason, more confused than ever. "Well this looks like our lucky break," he said. Then he noticed what was in Jason's hand. "What is that, a rabbit's foot?"

Jason admired the tiny thing of fluff in his hand, the thing from the box, that Octavian had been so afraid of. And Jason was just confused. "I think it is," he mused.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Later that evening, long after Jason and Percy had left the apartment, Carl woke up and got to his feet. He looked around and punched the wall when he couldn't find the rabbit's foot. Especially since he had three missed calls from the woman who made them steal it.

"Jim," he growled, kicking his brother to try and wake him up. "Get up." He moved over into the kitchen and washed up a couple plates, wondering how on Earth he was supposed to get away with losing that thing?

First he would have to track down those two imbeciles who stole it from them. Then he'd have to steal is back.

He never did that. He had touched the rabbit's foot earlier, which meant inevitable death. When he turned on his heel, he slipped on an empty beer bottle and fell. His head hit the counter so hard his skull cracked and his neck broke. He never got up off the floor and he never got the chance to pray for the poor douche who had touched the rabbit's foot after him.

* * *

 **A/N: REMINDER: Instead of Gossip Girl, this last dilemma is going to be based off of my favourite episode of Supernatural.**

 **I was going to take the first few weeks of March off to revise but I decided to just wing the exams. They're not final anyway, they're just mocks, so meh. I need to get my life together. I'll revise a little... compromises. Baby steps.**

 **Sorry it took me so long to update! I've been very busy and tired. But here it is nonetheless. Next chapter Reyna and Annabeth find out what happened and Annabeth explains what's so special about the rabbit's foot.**

 **If you review I'll love you forever 3 -Izzy**


	35. Chapter 35

**CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE:** _My Lucky Day_

"Hold still," Reyna demanded. Jason was sat on one of the barstools in their apartment, craning his neck so Reyna can treat the bruise that was left after Jim strangled him. She was being kinder than usual, not reprimanding him or being sarcastic or anything.

"It kind of hurts," Jason said, his voice only slightly croaky.

He felt Reyna smile before she leaned down to kiss the side of his neck. "It's healing weirdly quickly."

"I know why," Annabeth grumbled, looking pretty sad across the counter, sat on another barstool. She was slumped over and looked bored.

"Why?" Jason asked.

She just looked up at him and sighed. "The rabbit's foot."

Jason paused. He pulled the rabbit's foot out of his pocket and admired it, the tiny ball of fluff and the key chain it hung off. "What's so special about this foot?" he asked. Then he held it over to Annabeth. "Want to see?"

Annabeth jumped back, as if the foot was some sought of gun. "Get that thing away from me!" she exclaimed. "Reyna, Percy, don't touch that thing!" Percy just looked worried at his girlfriend. So did Jason and Reyna.

"What is it?" Percy asked. "We can understand what it is, if you just tell us."

"Yeah, I've had nothing but good luck since I got it," Jason nodded, enthusiastically. Reyna smiled and kissed his cheek. He turned to kiss her properly, and Annabeth looked worried that the foot would touch Reyna's skin.

"It's a rabbit's foot," Annabeth grumbled. Everyone looked at her blankly. "Okay, on Friday 13th, at Midnight during a Full Moon in a graveyard, if you happened to have found a rabbit and cut off its foot, it turns into a cursed object."

"What kind of cursed?" Percy asked.

"It's a good luck charm," she spat. "Once you touch it, everything begins to go your way. You can't lose, and all you feel is happiness because everything that can go right does." She glared at Jason. "You can't lose."

Jason paused. "And that's a bad thing because…?"

Annabeth sighed, looking as though she was about to give the worst news in the world. "Because when you lose the foot, your luck falls. Everything that can go wrong does. You have so much _bad_ luck that you'd be dead within a week."

There was a pause around the table. "Okay, then he won't lose it," Reyna nodded, confidently.

"That's why it's a cursed object," Annabeth said, as if they were all being particularly dim. "The curse is that everybody loses it. No matter where you keep it, how hard you try to keep your eyes on it, you will lose that foot."

Reyna and Percy exchanged a look. "The eternal optimist," Percy commented, gesturing at Annabeth.

"He'll be careful," Reyna said, almost like a plea. "He can't lose it!"

"I won't," Jason said, determinedly.

"I really wish," Annabeth mused, "for your sake, that that was true. But it isn't. So I'm going to find a way to break this curse before it's too late."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Jason had the best morning. The very best in a long time. He walked in to his Sociology lecture exactly on time – down to the second – and everybody started clapping. He joined in, asking who they were clapping for. They answered by shoving a trophy in his hand and congratulating him on his award-winning project.

Three girls tried to give him their phone numbers during that lecture, but Reyna ripped the paper to shreds. She seemed especially happy though. Not at all grouchy about other girls flirting with him.

They went out to lunch together, and the second they walked into the restaurant, balloons fell from the ceiling and music began playing. Reyna asked what was going on and they shoved a sign into the couple's hand. "You're our 10,000th customer!" someone cheered. They grinned for the picture and got the entire meal free. During the meal, another girl tried to give Jason her number, and he immediately handed it to Reyna to rip up.

After Reyna went off to art, Jason jogged around to the gym to meet Percy. On his way, he found a gold watch, lying abandoned on the pavement. He shrugged and picked it up, asking a few people around to see if it was theirs. When he found the owner, he was told to keep it.

At the gym, not only did he beat his high score on the treadmill, but the highest score of anybody who had previously used it. Hardly even breaking a sweat. He was rewarded with a month-supply of vouchers for the café, plus a job offer.

"Okay, okay," Percy grinned, sitting down with him after the work out. "I know Annabeth said it would all turn bad, and that's all well and good. Tough shit, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. But in the meantime…"

Jason paused, looking doubtful. "Why are you grinning deviously at me?"

"We can use this to our advantage," Percy said. "You're so lucky you have me, your best friend, to teach you how to live with nothing but good luck."

Jason began to smirk. "What do you suggest?"

Five minutes later he was stood outside of a convenience store as Percy walked out, handing him three pieces of cards and a coin. "Scratch the cards and bring in the bread," Percy demanded.

"Scratch Cards?" Jason sighed, hoping Percy's plan had had a little more… interesting factors. "Boring."

Percy feigned a look of hurt. "Percy needs Benjamin's," he said. "Scratch the damn cards!"

Jason huffed and did so, handing them back to Percy, who read the scores, doing a little maths. "Lame," Jason commented. "Can we do something a little more… fun? I'm thinking world records-"

"Holy shit," Percy interrupted. "Jason Grace… _holy shit_!"

Jason turned to him, shocked. "What? What is it?!"

Percy began to laugh. "It's $50,000!" Percy exclaimed. "Jason freaking Grace, we have $50,000! OH MY GODS!"

"What?!" Jason exclaimed, his face had fell. Then he began to grin. If anybody walked past them at that point, which a lot of people did, they would have seen two sweaty guys, straight from a work out, with tiny cards in their hands, and doing the lamest of lame happy dances on the side of the road.

"WE'RE RICH!" Jason exclaimed. Percy began chanting that as they got back home.

It took hours to pry Annabeth away from her laptop. She had taken every book out of the library that could be of any help and was looking further into the origin of the foot, looking for a loophole in the curse, a way to save Jason. "I'm not going to die just yet," he reminded her. "Look, the foot's right here. Now, come on, it's Movie Night!"

After the entire day, the luckiest bit was when the group curled up on the couch, watching an old movie in pyjamas and popcorn. At one point, when Jason and Percy got up to refill the bowl of popcorn, they looked back to the couch from the kitchen and grinned. Reyna and Annabeth had curled up closer together in the boys' absence, looking adorable and happy in pyjamas.

"Talk about luck," Percy mused. "Do you ever think we'll be happier?"

"Not in a million years," Jason replied, smiling.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Jason had to stop competing. He kept beating Percy at every card game, every round of chess, every tread mill race, every game of Operation. The two boys began pushing Jason's luck, seeing how far it could go.

Turns out, Jason could lose at anything. His grades hit the roof, he became top of every subject, he was asked to do a speech at Graduation. Christmas came and went, leaving Jason with every material item he could ever want. The New Year came and Jason celebrated it by kissing Reyna at midnight. She was always part of his luck. Always had been, always will be.

Over the next couple months, Jason became more and more confident that he would never lose the rabbit's foot. It had made a home for itself in his favourite jacket's pocket. It was zipped in and Jason couldn't imagine it not being there. After all, if he really was this lucky, then he wouldn't lose it. Right?

Annabeth kept looking for a loophole in the 'curse', trying to find a way to save him, despite the fact that he was fine. Jason grumbled under his breath every time he saw her reading something about the foot, and Annabeth grumbled under her breath every time she saw him add a new trophy to his new collection.

Percy and Jason were known for the competitive attitudes towards each other. But Percy never resented Jason for always winning. In fact, he helped Jason test the limits and celebrated with him. Jason was happy about that at first, his best friend working with him. But after a while, he began to wonder if Percy wouldn't be as happy for him if he didn't have the rabbit's foot. If Percy's help was just part of the curse.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Annabeth was having a considerably less fun time than Jason. He didn't have a single worry, but Annabeth knew the curse of the foot, and by this point, she was seriously considering sewing it into Jason's skin. For good measure. But she knew that wouldn't work. One way or another, he was going to lose it.

Of course, she couldn't argue the point with him. He seemed to value their friendship, so arguing with him would be considerably unlucky. All she could do was gently convince him not to cash in his lottery tickets just yet and to try and lay low.

Of course with Percy being his best friend, laying low wasn't in Jason's rulebook. Annabeth could argue with Percy, but she knew that the curse would force him to side with Jason, and he would hate siding against Annabeth, especially if he wasn't trying to. That could confuse him to the point of emotional distress, and she wouldn't do that to him.

So she let the boys have their fun, studying behind their backs for a way to end it. But she found nothing. It was beginning to stress her out so she found herself pacing more than anything.

"Saturday works for me," she said into the phone pressed against her ear, pacing around the spare room. It used to be Jason's and Percy's, but during their final year, they had moved into their girlfriend's room and Annabeth had redesigned the third room. It was the only place in the whole apartment where she could get some peace and quiet to think. "I'll drop by at around three? Yes, thank you."

She hung up the phone, running a hand through her hair. She had just called the Roman Penitentiary. The prison in New Rome. There visiting hours on Saturday was when she was planning on talking to Jim, the guy who stole the foot. His partner in crime, Carl, had died after touching the damn thing.

She let her hair out of the bun it was in and went to re-do it when she dropped the hairband. Grumbling to herself she kneeled down to pick it up when something caught her eye. Under the bed lay a shoebox, lone and abandoned and out of place.

Confused, she pulled the cardboard box out from under the bed and opened it up. She crossed her legs as she went through it.

There was a bundle of un-used postcards, a folded up walking stick, a tie and apron, a Spanish-to-English dictionary, a passport and a wallet full of euros. Annabeth immediately knew what it was. Percy had kept some of the more memorable parts of his trip to Paris. Everything was covered in a thin layer of dust, including a little black box she so remembered.

That was the thing she took out and looked at. She remembered when it came to her hotel room with Reyna in Paris. She remembered realising what it was and what it meant. She remembered hearing the news of Percy's death and suddenly, she felt a little like she was being chocked. Finally, she remembered handing it back to Percy, that night on the bridge, wearing her ball gown and looking at his walking stick, and telling him she didn't love him anymore. She remembered the engagement ring.

"Rooting around my old stuff?" came a voice behind her.

"I prefer the term snooping," she mused, looking around to face Percy. "You kept this?"

He shrugged. "Among other things." There was a pause before he moved over to sit next to her, reaching into the box and pulling out the walking stick, flicking it so it unfolded. "This used to be Emeraude's grandmothers. She had it lying around her place, so…"

"Does it still hurt?" Annabeth asked. She looked down to the bit of his t-shirt that hit the scar that still existed. She had woken up sometimes, seeing him lying next to her and seeing his discomfort due to pain.

"Yes," he answered, honestly. "There was some permanent scarring for a reason. But it's healing more every day."

She sighed, looking at a picture that was hiding underneath the walking stick. One of Percy and Emeraude eating ice cream. She was beautiful. Big brown eyes, olive skin, red lips. Her hair was the kind of hair every girl wanted. In that picture she wore a big flimsy hat and a tank top. But surprisingly, Annabeth couldn't bring herself to be jealous.

That was the woman who had saved Percy's life. She helped Percy recover and didn't pursue a romantic relationship after Percy refused. And even if Percy never saw Emeraude again, she would still be a huge part of his life. So she didn't mind him keeping memories of her.

"Why did you pawn this?" Annabeth asked, holding up the engagement ring and sighing. "Or sell it? I hated you when you got back. Even though I was the one who wanted you to come home."

He smirked, taking the ring from her. "It's something called sentimental value," he said. "I know it might make your robot brain a little confused but-" he was interrupted by her laughing and slapping his arm. "I plan on using it one day," he answered, sighing.

Her face fell. "Soon?"

He shook his head. "No," he said. "We're still rebuilding ourselves and our relationship. We're facing too many exams to be thinking about that right now."

She paused before opening up the box and taking the ring out. "Well I'm claiming it," she said, confidently. "Before you fall for anybody else." She undid the necklace around her neck, the one with nine camp beads, her father's college ring and a familiar red pendant he gave her. She slipped the engagement ring on it as well and tucked it back into her shirt.

"I wasn't planning on giving it to anybody else," he smirked.

"I know," she said. "But I want to feel it there. It doesn't make sense, but nothing really does. I want it to have a better home than a box under a bed. It means more to me than that."

She began to get up, kissing his cheek before leaving the bedroom.

* * *

 **A/N: REMINDER: Instead of Gossip Girl, this last dilemma is going to be based off of my favourite episode of Supernatural.**

 **Thanks for all the exam support btw guys you know ily. I felt like I had to include that last Percabeth scene eventually. Just an update on where that ring is going. If you don't remember the ring, I would suggest re-reading the end of chapters 20 and 22.**

 **Guest - You'll just have to wait and see ;)**

 **Omg can you believe we have five chapters more to go? Just five... PLEASE REVIEW ILY-Izzy**


	36. Chapter 36

**CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX:** _Just My Luck_

There are three things everybody does alone. They are born, they die, and if they are lucky enough to have an education, they take final exams. And whilst the tests were supposed to bring out their best traits, preparing for it bought out their worst. Stress, anxiety, less sleep, grouchiness and overall unhappiness. And everybody revised differently.

Humility became self-doubt. Jason was known for this. He was sat in his and Reyna's room at the desk, surrounded with books and quitting at least once an hour for a coffee break and five minutes of positive thinking.

Striving became obsession. This was more Annabeth's forte. She liked revision cards with questions on one side and answers on the back, although she often got snappy and mean when whoever was helping her didn't hold the card up fast enough.

Some are driven to self-medication. Reyna was always known for her coffee addiction, so on her fifth cup of the night, she was still sat in bed buried under piles of paper and ripping books when she was too stressed to handle them with care.

And anyone who's known for bending the rules will find themselves breaking them. This was Percy. When he found himself falling behind, Percy was not a stranger to finding the old cheat sheets and even pickpocketing people's notes.

But most cling to the security of being part of a group.

They all sat around a table in the courtyard of the main building, books scattered across the table and often yelling at each other to move their stuff. They occasionally looked up to make eye contact and give each other reassuring nods.

"Shit, I'm out of coffee," Reyna announced at one point.

"Same," Percy said.

Annabeth picked up her take-away cup and weighed it. "I made the last coffee round," she said, disappointed by how little she had left.

"It's Percy's turn," Jason informed the rest of the table.

Percy grumbled at he finished off a sentence he was writing. There was a tiny coffee shop just around the corner that they took turns going to. Everybody paid him for their share and he threw their old cups in the bin as he left. They had long since memorized each other's regular orders. Annabeth watched him go before turning to Jason and Reyna, who seemed to be sharing some very informative eye contact.

Annabeth had been in a relationship good enough to know that communication could be shared through eye contact, and Reyna seemed to be trying to get Jason to do something. "I think I'll go and grab that other sociology book from upstairs," she mused, getting to her feet and jogging off.

Annabeth turned to Jason, confused. "What's happening?"

Jason sighed. "I've been meaning to talk to you," he said. "I've wanted to apologise."

Annabeth's eyebrows scrunched together, confused. "What for?" Then she looked disbelieving. "Last time you apologised to me it was because you were going to take my phone charger and not give it back. Are you planning something equally diabolical?"

He sniggered. "No. I just… I feel like I've been ungrateful. This whole rabbit's foot thing. Just because I enjoy the luck, does not mean that I don't trust you, and I'm not grateful. I am. And I've decided to consider it part of my luck to have a friend who's trying to save me."

Annabeth paused. "Did you lose the foot?"

"No, it's right here," Jason said, pulling it out of his pocket to prove that he wasn't just saying that because he lost it. "And Reyna didn't make me say this. She just strongly encouraged me."

Annabeth laughed. "Well, I would cash in your lottery tickets soon," she mused. "I have a new lead. This person might be able to tell us how to break the curse-"

"Hi!" said a cheery voice near them. There was a bubbly woman in a red polo shirt, holding a collection of four coffees in her hands. She had a black bob cut and a bright smile and she spoke with too much optimism. "Percy told me to give these to you. He's taking a quick detour to your apartment."

"Who are you?" Annabeth asked, making room for the coffees to be put down.

"I'm a friend from one of his lectures," she answered, smiling. "You must be the girlfriend Annabeth. He never shuts up about you." She leaned heavily over Jason as she put the coffees down and Annabeth suspected the girl was flirting with him. Shortly after she bounced off, looking very pleased with herself.

"She isn't pleasant," Annabeth decided.

Jason nodded in agreement. He picked up his coffee but he slipped, and the boiling hot water spilt all down his front. He jumped up in pain, but bumped into some old professor who was carrying a huge stack of paper, which fell from his hands and scattered around the nearby ground. Jason turned to Annabeth, apologising to the man.

Annabeth just looked shocked and mildly horrified. "What the hell was lucky about that?!" she exclaimed.

Jason paused, his face falling. He reached into his jacket and pulled the pocket out, but no foot was to be found. Annabeth jumped to her feet, looking around the courtyard for Percy's 'friend', and got a glimpse of her leaving. "Come on!" she exclaimed. Her and Jason raced towards her as fast as possible.

The only made it a few meters before Jason tripped up, falling so hard that Annabeth had to stop in her tracks to make sure he was okay. "Wow," she muttered, looking down at him. "You suck!"

-0-0-0-0-0-

The hours after that were frantic. Carl had only survived maybe two hours before his death. Jason had… well, none of them knew, so they had to act incredibly quickly. "Reyna, you get Jason to a safe house and keep him safe," Annabeth instructed. "Percy, I'm going to text you the address of one of my leads. I'm going to find Jim; I have a few questions."

Reyna took Jason's hand and lead him away from their courtyard. Annabeth packed up all of Jason's revision, afraid it would fly away or destroy itself if Jason touched it. As soon as Jason and Reyna were slightly isolated, Reyna got her phone out.

"Hazel, it's me," she said into it. "Look, I have a favour." She turned away from Jason for a second as Hazel asked what she could do. "Jason needs a safe house. I know all of New Rome is supposedly safe, but we all know there are loopholes. Not in the praetor homes. Those houses are probably the safest places in San Francisco."

"You want to stay at my place for a while?" Hazel asked.

"You won't even notice we're there, I promise," Reyna said.

Hazel almost laughed. "You guys are always welcome! Come on over, you can have the guest room." Reyna thanked her before hanging up the phone. She turned back to Jason, after taking her eyes off him for less than a minute.

Her face fell. He was messy and dishevelled, like he'd lost a fight with a bear, his hair looked like it hadn't been brushed for months and he had grime on his face. He looked really sad about something. "What happened?!" Reyna asked.

Jason paused, speaking with a great level of sadness. "I lost my shoe." Reyna looked down to his feet, where he was missing a shoe. He was standing next to a drain, so she assumed the shoe was down there.

She sent a silent prayer to the Gods before leading him back to a house that used to be hers. It did not take her long to realise they were being watched. She led Jason behind her as she looked around for the source. They were just arriving at Hazel's house when Reyna's phone rang.

"Annabeth, what's up?" Reyna asked.

"A freaking jailbreak, that's what's up," Annabeth answered. "Jim is out and he's after Jason, naturally. He blames him for Carl's death, because Jason picked up the foot… whatever. Look, with Jason's luck, he'll get himself killed, so just be on alert."

"Shit," Reyna whispered. She pushed Jason inside the house and Hazel smiled at them. She offered them a drink – which Jason spilled.

"What's going on?" Hazel asked.

Reyna paused. "It's complicated," she said. "Everything's going to be fine, just don't worry. Thanks for letting us stay here. Jason just has… some really damn bad luck." Just as she said that she heard a crash from behind them and figured Jason fell to the ground in a heap with Hazel's lamp. "Jason? You good?"

There was a pause. "Yeah, I'm good," he croaked.

Hazel nodded, looking suspicious. "Okay, well I have a Senate Meeting to get to," she mused. "Are you guys going to be good here?"

Reyna nodded. "We'll be fine. Thanks so much for letting us stay here!" Hazel left and Jason sat down on the couch. The house used to belong to Reyna, so she couldn't help but grumble about the little things. Where Hazel put the armchair, which draw she kept the spoons in, the new choice in curtains. She didn't like it.

After a while there was a third phone call and Reyna sighed. "Seriously, I have never met a group of needier people," she grumbled, answering the call. "Yes, what is it?" She kept her eyes on Jason while she was on the phone.

"Hey," Percy said. "I need your help."

"I can't take my eyes off Jason," Reyna said, watching him as he fiddled with and dropped a precious antique. She wacked him on the arm as she hid the remains. "He's already lost his shoe and he looks like he got caught in a thunderstorm. Things are getting worse and worse!"

"What happened to his shoe?"

"I don't know," Reyna exclaimed. "He just doesn't have it anymore! What do you need help with?"

She heard Percy sigh. "I found the place," he said. "Big mansion a little while away from New Rome. There's a black wig in the bin, so this is the chick who stole the foot. Annabeth thinks she was the person Carl and Jim were working for."

Reyna paled. "Crap, it's probably Ivy," she grumbled.

"Ivy?" Percy asked.

Reyna shrugged. "Her real name's Vivian or something, but her fake name is Ivy," she explained. "The poisonous kind. Every praetor knows Ivy. She's the biggest nuisance this city has!"

"Is she a Demigod?" Percy asked.

"She couldn't be further from it," Reyna said. "And if she was, we wouldn't except her into this camp. She's a mortal, one of the ones who can see through the Mist. Like your friend Rachel. Except Ivy's manipulative. She uses the God world to her advantage in the black market. She makes money off us and always seems to be one step ahead of the game."

"Well I need help," Percy said. Reyna stopped Jason from breaking a bone as he almost fell off the couch. "This place is big and she has security guards. I need someone to help me sneak into the back."

"Ask Annabeth," Reyna said. "I can't leave Jason!"

"I did ask Annabeth," Percy said. "She said she's one step closer to a solution and she's going to see Jason now."

"Ask Nico," Reyna suggested. "Hazel and Frank are at a Senate Meeting-"

"And Nico's in New York," Percy said.

Reyna paused. "Ask Camille! You guys are friends, right?"

Percy sighed. "Yes, Camille and I are somewhat friends. But it's a lot easier to sneak into a guarded mansion when you're not eight months pregnant!"

Oh yeah. "Percy, answer me honestly," Reyna said. "Do you need me to come straight away? Is this honestly your last resort?"

"Yes!" Percy exclaimed. "Annabeth's going to be there in a second anyway! Just get your butt over here!"

Reyna sighed before saying fine. She hung up the phone and turned to Jason, pulling her sternest face. "You will not move off that couch," she said. "Sit there and do nothing. Don't stand, don't talk, to turn on the light, don't turn off the light. Don't even scratch your nose. Annabeth will be here any second."

"Reyna, I will survive a couple minutes alone," Jason promised. "I'm fine."

Reyna nodded, not confident at all as she jogged out the door.

-0-0-0-0-0-

When Reyna found Percy, he was in a bush, a little way away from the highway surround New Rome and Camp Jupiter. She knelt down and hid next to him from a couple of security guards outside of a tall black gate. That lead to a large courtyard with freshly cut grass and a large collections of flowers. There was a large, modern mansion with walls made out of windows and panels of dark wood.

"Is this Ivy's place?" Percy asked as Reyna joined him. She was braiding her hair, preparing for some practical work as he spoke. She just shrugged. "You don't know?" he asked. "If this woman is as dangerous as you seem to think she is-"

"She's not dangerous," Reyna interrupted. "She's just cocky and in way over her head. And I've never actually been to her place before. I've sent people to meet her in public places whenever business needed to be done. Or she would just sneak into camp and barge into Senate Meetings." She grumbled angrily, as if dealing with Ivy had been an incredible strain in the past.

Percy sighed. "Okay, so as far as I can tell, there's a back gate. Two more guards are there, as well as two pacing the East and West sides. That's one on each side. There's a butler that answers the door, and I'm almost positive there's more staff in the house. This chick is loaded."

"There won't be more staff," Reyna said. "Ivy's smarter than that. The more people who arrive, the more dangerous her situation becomes. I would say the butler is almost done for the day and nobody else is home. Except Ivy." Almost a minute after they saw the butler's car backing out of the drive. "So do you have a plan?"

Percy shrugged. "I'm thinking basic attack and distract," Percy mused. "These are mortals after all, they aren't smart enough to expect better. I'll go up and distract the first couple of guards. Cause a scene so they call the East and West patrollers round to help." Reyna nodded and Percy was surprised that she agreed. "Then I'll take them all out and climb over the gate."

Then Reyna looked confused. "I thought I was going to sneak in while you attack?"

"I'm getting there," Percy said. "After I get over the gate, the two guards at the back entrance will come running to stop me. Then you sneak in through the back and enter the house. Find Ivy, and then I'm trusting you to do the actual day-saving."

Reyna pouted. "Okay."

"Okay?"

Reyna nodded. "It's a good plan. One snag, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. How are you going to try and get past the guards?"

Percy grinned. "The good old fashioned way." Five minutes later he was dressed in a red polo shirt and cap with a logo on it. He held a hot pizza box in his hands and Reyna was behind the bushed, dragging an unconscious Pizza Man into a hiding spot.

"Fancy place," Percy observed to the two guards as he walked up to the gate. "Wonder why someone so rich is getting such a cheap pizza." The guards stopped him in his tracks. One of them moved to the intercom.

"Miss Fitz, there's a Pizza Man here for you," the guard said. Ivy Fitz. Unique.

There was a pause before a woman spoke over the intercom, audibly sighing. "I am currently the owner of a top company, in possession of three holiday homes, seven of the most powerful cars in the world, a bathroom I can play baseball in. I have a limitless credit card. My life is the life of people's dreams. If I wanted pizza, I wouldn't order it from peasants."

Percy almost laughed. "Some people say that money can't buy happiness," he said, optimistically. "But it can buy pizza, so those people clearly don't know what they're talking about. That'll be $57."

One of the guards narrowed his eyes. "For a pizza? Really?"

Percy shrugged. "It was a long walk here."

"She didn't order the pizza," the second guard said. "Off you go."

Percy pretended to look confused. "Yes she did. Or one of her staff members did. Basically, I just walked up some big ass hills to get here and it's freezing. Pay me and I better get a big tip."

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave the property," the first guard said, clearly. Obviously his interest in the pizza price had faded and he remembered he had a job to do. Possibly involving ass-kicking.

"And I'm going to have to ask for my well-earned money," Percy contradicted. "Besides, I'm not even on the property. I'm outside the front gate. Now that'll be $57 not including tip."

"Sir," the second guard said, beginning to get angry. "Don't force us to call the authorities."

That. That was Percy's que to start making a scene. He grabbed the front of the second guard's shirt and shoved him against the gate. "I want my money!" he demanded. The first guard left into action. He pulled out a baton, like police officers used sometimes in prison riots. He aimed it at Percy, who caught it before it hit him. He pushed it back so it hit the guard in his stomach before twisting it up to hit him in the face.

The second guard tackled Percy to the ground, but he rolled over and punched the guard in the ribs, making him short for breath.

He jumped to his feet but instantly ducked, his instincts taking over. The baton flew over his head and Percy turned back to the first guard. When he took another swing Percy grabbed the baton, ignoring the flashing pain in his hands at the contact. He swung the bat around so forcefully it shook the guard off who fell to the floor.

Before he could get up, the second guard got to his feet. Percy used the baton to trip him up and used it to knock the second guard out in the most painless way he knew. To be fair they were only doing their jobs. But their jobs could possibly cost Jason his life, and Percy had his priorities in check.

The first guard got to his feet and grabbed the weapon. There was a small struggle for power, and when Percy realised he would lose, he threw the baton far away from him so the guard couldn't use it either.

Percy shoved the guard as hard as he could until he fell into the gate. Percy then grabbed a handful of his hair and banged his head against the black metal, watching him fall to the floor, unconscious.

He only had a second to enjoy his victory before two more guards ran at him from either sides, pausing when they noticed the unconscious bodies. "Hello boys," Percy greeted. "Pleasure, etcetera." He cracked his neck and his knuckles. "Should we begin? I could go all day."

Meanwhile, Reyna's part of the plan was going like clockwork. She climbed up the metal railing near the side, the post being abandoned so the guard could fight Percy. She landed on her feet on the other side and started walking towards the building, attempting a look of nonchalance. She noticed Percy in the middle of a fight and she considered running over to help him. But when she saw him judo-flip someone, she shrugged. He was pretty good at this whole 'fighting' thing. She remembered when Annabeth judo-flipped him and laughed to herself.

Reyna found a side door and tried her luck. Locked.

She wasn't an idiot. She wasn't going to break into a house and not bring something to pick a lock with. Anybody would think the extra braid across her hairline was for decoration, but she pulled the clip out and pushed it into the lock. She looked around quickly before pushing the door open and stepping inside.

She was in a very fancy kitchen. Everything looked automatic and lit up with very bright lights. There was a hairless cat on the work top and Reyna glared at it as it hissed at her. She paused, wondering whether or not she was supposed to be looking for a safe when she heard a click.

"Stop right where you are," said a British accent behind her. Reyna turned to see a woman, a little older than she was, in a black pencil dress and light blonde hair that fell to her shoulders. She wore a mischievous grin and had dark eyes.

"You're going to give it back," Reyna told her.

"Sweetie," the woman laughed, condescendingly. "No I'm not."

"We'll see," Reyna mused. "I'm guessing you're Vivian?"

She smirked. "Please, Reyna. Call me Ivy."

Reyna rolled her eyes. "You know the thing is cursed, right?" She looked the woman over, wondering if she had it on her. She didn't. It wasn't anywhere in the kitchen either.

Ivy shrugged. "You'd be surprised to know how much some people will pay for something like that."

"Oh, really?"

"There's a whole market out there," Ivy said. "Millions to be made." Then she smirked. "You Demigods, with all your weapons and your armour, tablets and amulets. You use them to stop the big bad monsters. Any one of them could put your children's children through college."

"So you know the truth?" Reyna asked, not being able to stop herself from judging. "Everything that's going on out there, you know about it, and this is what you decide to do with it? You become a thief?"

Ivy looked defensive. "I procure unique items for select buyers," she said.

Reyna almost laughed. "Yeah, and because of it, my boyfriend will be dead within a week, so hand that thing over."

Ivy did laugh at that point. "It's a shame you won't be with him for his final moments." She pulled a gun out from behind her and pointed it at Reyna, smiling.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Don't even scratch your nose," had been the last thing Reyna said before she left. When she said that Jason felt the itch on his nose and waited until she left to scratch it. He didn't need to get yelled at for disobeying orders.

He didn't feel unlucky. Sure, he was a mess and he missed his shoe, but he didn't feel like he was going to die any second. Hazel's house was too quiet and peaceful. He remembered that living room. Him and Reyna once built a pillow fort in there when they were thirteen. It had been great.

He wondered when Annabeth was going to arrive. He had been sat down for a full two minutes, which was surprisingly long when you were literally doing nothing. Nothing bad could happen when he did nothing. Right? He thought wrong.

Of course he did.

He was simply looking at the radiator when it began smoking and making funny noises. "Wha-" Jason grumbled. "Come _on_!" He paused before getting up and walking to it. He would rather fix it and burn himself than let it explode. Except after touching it for a second it caught on fire, with his trousers. "Damn it!" Jason exclaimed.

He used the curtain to try and put the fire out and it worked. But he also got tangled up in the curtain and fell to the floor, ripping the fabric off its railings and hitting his head, knocking himself out, exposing him to the window that Reyna had insisted he kept covered.

Now he knew why. Because outside was Jim, the prison breaker, who was wondering where the hell Jason was and how he could find him. And Jason had revealed himself in a big flaming curtain before passing out. Just his luck.

"Well that was easy," Jim smirked. By the time Annabeth got there, Jason was missing.

* * *

 **A/N: REMINDER: Instead of Gossip Girl, this last dilemma is going to be based off of my favourite episode of Supernatural.**

 **Asteria Daughter of Koios: Awe that warmed my heart! Literally, I blushed reading that and grinned like an idiot. I was thinking about doing a series of one-shots following this story, so it may not be completely over. Thank you so much for writing that last review it meant so much!**

 **Europeowl1209: I forgot to reply to your last review. You're so kind! I'm an aspiring author as well, so I use fanfic as practise, you know? Cool Metaphor. If I do that sequel series of one-shots I would like to bring Emeraude back in to guest star for a while, yes. There isn't much time in this fanfiction to fit her in, but if I continue it as one-shots then no, we haven't seen the last of her.**

 **ALL OF YOU: You have been some truly amazing readers! All of your reviews (positive or critical) have meant so much and everyone who favourited or followed has made my day. This story is coming to an end.** **BUT: The last chapter's going to be laid out a little differently. So I ask you: What were your favourite scenes? Your favourite lines of dialogue or not dialogue? The tiniest scenes or the major scenes? This is kinda important to write the last chapter, so please! As many scenes as possible. PLEASE PLEASE let me know!**

 **I love you all, and please review! Until next time, -Izzy**


	37. Chapter 37

**CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN:** _Devil's Don't Fly_

Reyna paused before holding her hands up in a form of surrender, not taking her eyes off the gun. "I'm not playing games, Ivy," Reyna mused. "You're willing to take a human life for the sake of money!"

Ivy paused. There was a flash of regret on her face before she smirked. She opened her mouth to say something, but she closed it again, looking down, hanging her head in shame. Reyna knew not to trust her, but she couldn't help but hope that she got through to her. "You can have the foot," she said, looking up and meeting Reyna's eye.

"Really?" Reyna asked in disbelief.

"For 95 million dollars," Ivy grinned.

Reyna rolled her eyes. "Cute," she said. "So you don't care about taking lives at all? Maybe I should be more afraid of that gun… you're a murderer as well as a thief then, Vivian?"

"A _great_ murderer," Ivy said. "And I suppose you think being a Demigod is much better? A bunch of revenge-driven sociopaths trying to save a world that can't be saved? All for Mommy and Daddy's approval?"

"Well aren't you a glass half full," Reyna commented.

"We're all going to The Fields of Punishment," she said. "Might as well enjoy the ride."

Reyna paused before smirking herself. When she raised her hands, it wasn't to surrender, it was to get them closer to the gun. While she had Ivy distracted, she reached out a grabbed the barrel as fast as she could. As fast as she would move if she was dropping something hot. She moved the gun from the line of fire so it wasn't aiming at her, holding on as tight as she could as she was literally holding on for her life. Then she disarmed. She twisted the gun towards Ivy's thumb. Reyna's other hand reached out to push Ivy's wrist in the opposite direction. Reyna held the gun with both hands and pointed it at Ivy.

To anybody else the move would have been virtually impossible. It was all incredibly quick – less than a second, and it looked like Reyna was just snatching the gun. But it was the honest way to get a gun from someone, and as a daughter of Bellona, it was easy for Reyna.

"How the hell did you do that?" Ivy asked, looking shocked. "You're just some college student."

"I was the praetor of New Rome," Reyna said. "I didn't fight my way to the top of the food chain to be a vegetarian." She swung her leg around to trip Ivy up, and the woman dropped to her knees. Reyna then swung the gun around and hit Ivy over the head, knocking her out.

"Decent," came a comment from the door. Reyna turned to Percy, who was leaning against the door frame, grinning. He didn't seem to have a scratch on him from the fight outside, but his knuckles were red.

Reyna cracked her neck. "Pretty good if I do say so myself." Before Percy good reply Reyna felt a strong punch from behind, where her neck met her head. Before even thinking she turned and pushed her elbow up into the nose of her attacker – one security guard that Percy had not taken out. Whilst Reyna's arm was up the guard grabbed her waist and tackled her, knocking her head into the worktop of the kitchen.

Reyna dropped the gun and the man picked it up, aiming it at Percy. "Hand it over or the girl dies," the guard growled.

Percy paused. "That is one cliché line," he mused. "But I don't think I can cooperate. See your boss isn't the only one with sticky fingers." He opened his fist to show the rabbit's foot dangling from the keychain around his middle finger. Reyna half wanted to yell at him for touching the damn thing, but it was hard to when he pulled her to her feet and stood in front of her.

She started towards the door and Percy blocked any bullets from hitting her. The guard aimed at him but missed every time, the bullets ricocheting off every glass surface. "See you!" Percy called, running to the door behind Reyna.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Annabeth was running as fast as she could through New Rome, trying to get to the dingy apartments they first found Carl and Jim in. Annabeth's senses were on high alert and she was lead there by tiny drops of blood living a barely noticeable trail. She was stopped in her tracks, however, by a familiar face.

"Nico?!" she watched as he stepped out of a shadow at the side of a building. She took the opportunity to stop and catch her breath. She was not dressed for running that day. "What are you doing here, I thought you were in New York?"

He nodded. "Yeah, but I couldn't stay away for long," he mused. "Evidently trouble starts without me. What in Hades happened?"

Annabeth sighed, panting as she gave him a quick overview of everything he missed. "I wish you returned like, half an hour ago," she said. "That would have been a real help."

"Well I'm here now," he said. "Now where's Jason?"

Annabeth paused. "Have enough juice for another shadow travel?"

When Nico shadow travelled for a second time in the last five minutes, he almost collapsed. Annabeth felt bad asking almost immediately. They were in a dingy bathroom in the back of an equally dirty apartment and Annabeth sat Nico down on the side of the bathroom and checked his pupils for any kind of illness. "I'm so sorry, Nico," she said, feeling his temperature with her hand. After deducing he was just pretty drowsy, she moved over to the door of the bathroom and pressed her ear against it.

"Do you know how hard it was to find you?" grumbled a voice that sounded like he smoked way, way too much. "Hard. You weren't at college, at home, with your girlfriend or your best friends. You know how I found you in the end?"

That was Jim. He must have been talking to Jason. Annabeth looked around the bathroom for any kind of weapon, knowing that Jim had a gun ready. Terminus was magic, able to sense any weapon when people entered the city. But he's been around for more than enough centuries for people to find loopholes. Assassins, mostly, going against the praetors. She had done research on the Statue when she moved to New Rome, and knew that no spell was bulletproof.

She knew how to disarm a gun, but that only worked if they were close together, which she knew they weren't. Annabeth heard a mumble come from the next room. Jason. He wasn't replying, so he must have been gagged or something. Or in too much pain to speak.

"I was walking down a street, trying to brainstorm places you could be," Jim continued. "When I saw a curtain ripped down and you flailing around on fire." She heard a barrel click and burst out of the room, holding her hands up.

"Don't shoot!" Annabeth exclaimed. The gun was pointed at Jason and the finger was on the trigger, but Jim paused when he saw Annabeth. If she burst in any later, she guessed Jason would be dead. "You don't have to do this," she said, lamely.

Jim just paused, looking at her as if she was an idiot. "Did you honestly think that was going to work?" Jason was glaring at Annabeth, and she knew the look in his eyes was telling her to run, but she couldn't.

"No, but I was hoping this would," she said. She reached left and grabbed a nearby lamp, pulling it from the wall as she swung it around Jim's face, knocking him backward. His grip on the gun loosened and Annabeth tried to grab it, kicking him in the groin.

Before she could disarm him, he grabbed her neck and tackled her to the floor, squeezing until she was gasping for breath. "Say your prayers, bitch."

"To which War God?" she asked, grabbing the hands around her neck and twisting them until he let go. She punched him in the face, successfully breaking his nose. "My mother, maybe?" He was still on top of her and he aimed the gun at her head.

"How about the God of the dead?" he mused. "They're on my side, little girl. How do you think I was lucky enough to find Jason? Have you pinned down? It's all destiny!"

"Nope, not destiny," came a voice at the front door. Annabeth craned her neck to see Percy, and Reyna ran inside from behind him, untying Jason from the chair. "Just a rabbit's foot." Jim turned to Percy, pointing his gun at him as well.

"I'd stop that girl if I were you," Jim said to Percy, nodding to Reyna. "Or you'll be scraping brain off the floor."

Percy nodded, winking to Annabeth. "I noticed you're preparing to kill my girlfriend," Percy nodded. "Nothing I haven't wanted to do before. But if you touch one hair on her annoying head, I will destroy you."

"Sweet," Annabeth commented. "Why'd you have to ruin it by calling me annoying?"

Jim ignored her. "How do you plan on doing that?" Jim asked Percy, turning and pointing his gun at him instead.

"There's one thing you don't know about me," Percy grinned, picking up a pen from a small table next to the door. Reyna had Jason untied and was checking him over for injuries. Nico appeared at the bathroom door and was watching the group with a worried expression on his face. "It's my lucky day."

Percy tossed the pen and it landed, luckily, in the barrel of the gun, blocking it. Nico and Jason laughed slightly in shock. Jim got away from Annabeth and Reyna ran over, helping her to her feet. Jim was inspecting the gun in disbelief. "Oh my Gods, did you see that shot?" Percy grinned.

"I'm amazing," Percy said, picking up a TV remote and throwing it at Jim's head so hard he was knocked out. Then he turned to Jason. "I'm Batman."

Jason just rolled his eyes. "Yeah," he said, sarcastically. "You're Batman."

-0-0-0-0-0-

The group stood outside the building as the authorities dragged Jim back to jail. Terminus was fuming and put the city on an even stricter lockdown than usual. All kitchen knives were banned, most forks, two spoons. Every lamp. They all had to fill out a statement but Percy was more concerned about the growing bruise around Annabeth's neck, from where Jim had strangled her.

"It's fine," she croaked. "It's small." It was a faint bruise but it was enough to make Percy look murderous.

Jason had barely been hurt, but Reyna was still worried. Jason was also worried about the bump on the back of Reyna's head from the kitchen counter at Ivy's house. Reyna was more worried about Nico having shadow travelled so much in one day, but he managed to convince her he was fine. Reyna still considered using her power on Annabeth and Nico, but they both refused.

"I think I know how to break the curse," Annabeth said as the five of them sat on a wall. It was mid to late afternoon, but the day had been so long it felt like night time. "And I think we're going to need to work fast. Tonight."

Percy just grinned at the foot in his hands. "I think we have time."

"Jason could die any second," Annabeth reminded him, scowling. "We need to end this as soon as possible. Before you lose the foot."

"How do we destroy it?" Nico asked.

"We burn it," Annabeth answered. "In a graveyard at midnight."

Jason shrugged. "Well that sounds easy enough." He bit his tongue when he spoke and Reyna remembered his super bad luck.

"It has to be a special fire," Annabeth continued. "I'm not sure what, but I know there's a special ingredient we need for it to work. But I know who does know. Michael." Everybody turned to Reyna. "We know you've been visiting him. Will you go today?"

Reyna paused. She suddenly regretted telling any other them about her visits to Michael. Instead of answering, she got to her feet and left them, walking away without a word. Everybody left behind turned to Jason.

"She visits Michael because she cares about him," Jason sighed. "Not because she wants to use him to get information. It hurts her to see him like that."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Reyna went. She was planning to anyway. She had gone at least once a week, so the doctors knew her and allowed her access. She silently paced his room for the first twenty minutes of the visit. He was sat on the bed like he always was, looking pale and physically sick as well at mentally. "The doctor said you may not remember this," Reyna sighed, sitting down next to him. "But I've been visiting you over the last couple of months."

No response. No acknowledgement of her presence. Just a blank stare at the wall. During her visits she would usually talk to him, often explaining the doctors plans for him. She would read to him sometimes, often the good reviews of his own book. She was known for trying to play board games with him.

"I need to ask you something," she sighed. "I know you never respond, but this is a matter of life or death. Look, I come here because I know there's a person still in there! So please, help me!" He didn't respond so she explained the problem, saying it was her who picked up the foot and not Jason.

There was no answer, no response. "I know you've been hurt, but so have I," she said, beginning to get emotional. "And I still am." Still nothing. "Have you heard from Camille?" she asked, lightly. "She's eight months pregnant. She's planning a baptism, which I think is a little premature. What if it's not born human?"

Nothing. "Has Camille visited you?" she asked. There was a pause. Reyna moved the hands she was leaning on and put them in a sort of prayer position over her mouth. She felt her eyes well up at the thought she voiced next. "Has anyone come to visit you besides me?"

Michael didn't move a muscle at what she said, but Reyna noticed a very slight look of sadness in his eyes. "Stop ignoring me," she demanded, choking slightly. "You owe me, Michael!" She got to her feet and cried angrily: "You have made my life a nightmare, okay? You owe me!" Michael didn't respond so Reyna picked up the chair she was sat on and threw it at the wall next to his bed.

Still nothing. It took her five minutes of pacing to calm down. She was still shaking, but she picked up the chair and took a few deep breaths. "Other than angry outbursts," Reyna sighed, "the doctors say my visits have been helping. So if you want…" she sat down at the end of his bed. "I can keep coming back. Is that something you want?"

Finally. Finally, after a long pause, Michael looked up and into her eyes. Reyna's face fell in shock and she wondered if she should say something. He just smiled lightly at her. "Don't be dumb," he commented.

Reyna didn't reply immediately, wondering what he meant by that. "Can you help me?" she asked.

"Reyna in great harm. Tell him Annabeth's not dead," he said. "Vivian's Ivy. Can they isolate me?" Reyna narrowed her eyebrows, wondering if his ramblings had any meaning, or if they were pointless observations. "Because literature offended our dead."

That line scared Reyna. Literature. Like the book Michael wrote, the one that offended her. He said Reyna was in great harm, and then a commented about his book offending the dead? She got to her feet.

"Reyna in great harm," he repeated, softly. Almost like a melody. "Tell him Annabeth's not dead."

"Who?" Reyna asked. "Tell who?"

"Vivian's Ivy," Michael said. Reyna wanted to exclaim that they knew that, but he spoke before she could. "Can they isolate me?" Reyna wondered if that was him asking her not to visit anymore. "Because literature offended our dead."

"I don't understand what-" she exclaimed before realising it was pointless. As far as she could tell, Michael was asking not to be seen by her anymore, and making comments about her being dead. She got to her feet, walking quickly to the door and wondering if she was actually in danger. She grabbed her back but Michael spoke at she opened the door.

"Don't," he said, slowly and carefully. "Be. Dumb." He emphasized each word, drilling them into her mind, as if she was being thick. "It is a good memory," he commented. Then he let her leave.

-0-0-0-0-0-

It was only when she was walking out the building that she finally understood it. A code. Michael was talking about it when he was still her… friend. When they dated. They never actually put a label on it. When Reyna got back to the apartment, she told the others.

"You take the first letter of every word," she said. "It was so he could tell me things without anyone else knowing. It was just some cheesy tradition we had." Jason looked uncomfortable at that statement.

"Michael just fed you a code?" Percy asked. "Why? Why couldn't he just say it?"

"Because it's Michael," Reyna sighed.

"What exactly did he say?" Annabeth asked.

Reyna sucked her teeth, trying to remember. "Reyna in great harm. Tell him Annabeth's not dead." The group cringed at the use of the names, but Annabeth put the pieces together.

"Right hand," she said. The group turned to look at her and she shrugged. "It's not that complicated. Is one of us supposed to chop of a hand?" She said it sarcastically but Reyna figured she would do it to save Percy's life.

"Vivian's Ivy. Can they isolate me?" Reyna continued. "At first, I thought he was trying to get me to stop visiting him."

"Victim," Nico mused, beating Annabeth to the punch.

"Because literature offends our dead," Reyna recalled.

"That sounds like a threat," Jason said. "Because his literature offended you."

Reyna shrugged, remembering how that was her exact thought in the beginning. "It spells blood. Right hand victim blood. I'm assuming the victim means you and Percy, so you just have to cut open your right hand and spill your blood on the fire."

Annabeth tied her hair up and spoke to Reyna. "Is that all Michael said?"

Reyna paused. He told her not to be dumb. She assumed that had to do with her understanding the riddles. He also told her that it was a good memory, and she was hoping that meant the night he told her about his riddle. "Everything that you need to know," Reyna answered.

Annabeth narrowed her eyes and sent the boys out the apartment. They were heading to the city's graveyard to get this over and done with, but Annabeth pulled Reyna back. "Look, I know I pissed you off when I asked you to visit Michael earlier," she said. "But we're good, right?"

Reyna paused before sighing. "Yeah, we're good," she promised.

Annabeth nodded. "And if you need someone to talk to about Michael, or anything, you know I'm here, right?"

"Yeah, I know," Reyna smiled, hugging Annabeth before they went to go and follow the boys. "Now let's go and break this damn curse."

* * *

 **A/N: REMINDER: Instead of Gossip Girl, this last dilemma is going to be based off of my favourite episode of Supernatural.**

 **The way Reyna disarmed Ivy is apparently how you're actually supposed to get a gun off people. I did research into it before writing it, and I didn't believe it at first because it seemed pretty unrealistic, but the guy in the video explained it better than I did. Look up fightTIPS on You-Tube (I had to put the dash in so it doesn't cut it out) and watch their video about disarming guns. Interesting af.**

 **This is not the last chapter, Chapter 40 will be the last chapter. And can people stop asking for Solangelo? I don't ship it, so I can't write it. Sorry.**

 **This is the last thing I'm supposed to be doing right. I have a week full of exams next week and I'm supposed to write an entire chapter for another story by tomorrow, but here I am. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, that'll be helpful when writing the last chapter. Which I hope you guys will like.**

 **Please review! -Izzy**


	38. Chapter 38

**Quick A/N: This chapter came out a lot shorter than I was expecting, so I added a scene at the end that was originally a deleted scene (I have a small collection of those) from next chapter. It's pointless and what people would call a filler scene but whatever.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT:** _The Song Remains the Same_

Nico was finding it incredibly hard not to laugh at the situation. He was new to the whole 'rabbit's foot' drama, but he caught on pretty quickly. Jason had lost the foot, so he had bad luck. Percy had the foot, so he had good luck. It wasn't something to laugh at since Jason's life was on the line. But why not make light of a dark situation? Especially when that dark situation was probably the funniest dark situation Nico had ever witnessed, and that was saying something.

Especially when Percy found a gold ring on the ground, nestled between two blades of grass. Especially when he bent down to pick it up, he bumped into Jason, who then lost his balance. Especially when he fell into an open grave. Even Reyna and Annabeth laughed at that. Percy and Nico reached down to get one of Jason's arms each and hauled him out of the muddy, wet grave. He was very disgruntled and not very happy at being laughed at.

Reyna had to monitor Jason the entire time to make sure he didn't trip and die or something and Nico was on Percy duty. It was nearing midnight, and they were surrounded by darkness. It was kind of eerie, out there in the middle of the night. Nico was used to it, but he saw the others constantly looking over their shoulders.

"What are you doing?" Nico asked, watching Percy, who sat on a gravestone. He was supposed to monitor him to make sure he wasn't taking advantage of his good luck.

Percy shrugged, holding up the cards in his hands. "Jason lost his scratch cards when his luck turned bad," he explained, scratching away with a coin. "I'm just preparing for rent when we leave this place."

Nico tried to snatch the cards away from him, but Percy was still taller than Nico, and held the cards above his head, making Nico growl. "It's not real," he said. "It's just cursed luck."

"The lottery is always luck," Percy replied, shrugging with a grin. "Cursed or not." Nico shook his head and Percy jumped for joy when winning millions. Meanwhile, Jason had gotten a cut from a gravestone and was angrily watching Percy.

"Okay, I'm ready for the blood," Annabeth announced. The boys moved to stand over the blazing fire, holding their hands. Annabeth pulled out a pocket knife and cut into Jason's palm. Due to his bad luck, it hurt more than it usually would of and he swore.

Annabeth held the knife out to Percy, who closed his fist around it and let the blood trickle from his palm. Due to his good luck, it hurt a lot less that it would of. He smirked at Jason. "Show off," he muttered, bitterly.

"Great," Annabeth observed as the fire turned blue. "Percy, just throw the foot in the fire." She looked at her boyfriend expectedly but kind of worried. Nico wondered if she thought he didn't have the foot anymore… or if he wouldn't want to say goodbye.

Percy pulled out the rabbit's foot and sighed. "I think we should all say a few words," he announced, gravely. "Thank you, rabbit's foot. For bringing us good luck and money." Nico couldn't tell whether he was joking or not before remembering it was Percy. He was always joking.

Jason watched the foot and shrugged. "I suppose you gave me some good luck before I lost you," he mused, gratefully. He still had a gold watch around his wrist from when he had good luck. Only now it made his wrist itchy.

"I didn't even know there was a foot," Nico announced, as if giving a eulogy.

Percy turned to the two girls, raising an eyebrow expectantly. "Yes, thank you for cursing my boyfriend," Reyna said, sarcastically. Percy gave her a mean look, as if to say 'Seriously? Show some respect!'

"Just throw it on the fire, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth exclaimed. He went to do what she said, when they heard a click of a gun. The five of them stopped in their tracks and turned very slowly. They all faced an angry Ivy, who was smirking at them, a silver pistol aimed at them.

"Put the foot down, darlings," she ordered, with a sickly sweet voice.

"How did you even get that in here?" Nico demanded after a pause. "Terminus is being stricter than ever."

"Yes, and whilst he's running around forbidding spoons, he's distracted enough to sneak anything in," Ivy smirked.

"You're not going to use that thing," Percy mused, smiling at Ivy confidently. He took a step forward as he spoke. "See, I happen to be able to read people- FUCK!" He was interrupted by Jason calling out in fear. There was a hole in the ground millimetres from his foot and a smirk on Ivy's face.

"Mommy's not playing around, children," she mused. Reyna looked murderous and moved to step in front of Jason, but he pushed her back and kept an arm in front of her, Annabeth had put her hands over her mouth in shock, Nico had taken a step back at the sound of the gun shot, as if to run away. "In ten seconds, it'll be one to the torso, on sweet little Annabeth. A scar to match her boyfriends."

Annabeth growled. Percy clearly felt the urge to step in front of her, but instead, he stood next to her and they stared Ivy down as a couple. The scar on Percy's stomach stung as he remembered that night in the alleyway. "Don't you dare," he growled, looking menacing but a little scared. "You can have the foot," he offered.

"Put it on the ground," Ivy growled, grinning. She pointed at the ground with her gun before aiming it at Nico this time. Reyna reached out and grabbed the sleeve of his jacket, pulling him behind her. He was like a brother to her, and she was not losing any more family that night.

Percy paused before kneeling down. He kept eye contact with Ivy and prepared to put the foot down. He looked like he was going to throw it onto the ground between him and Ivy. "Percy don't, you and Jason will both die," Annabeth exclaimed. Percy ignored her. Annabeth reached down to stop him, but he pushed her off.

Now, all anybody saw was Percy trying to protect Annabeth and Nico. But, from Annabeth's perspective, if she looked really closely, when he pushed her away she could almost see him wink. Of course, it could just be the trick of the light…

"Catch," he said. Instead of putting it on the ground he tossed it, and instinctively, Vivian reached out to catch it. She held it in her bare hands for a second, almost smiling at the thought that she had won. Then her face fell and her jaw dropped as she remembered what she had done. The mistake she made. She flared at Percy, her lip twitching.

"Bugger," she exclaimed.

Percy just smirked as she glared at him. "Bet you want that thing destroyed as much as we do, now," he mused. Nico couldn't help but grin. Neither could the rest of the group. Ivy looked murderous, but she put the gun away. She wouldn't kill if it didn't serve a purpose. And she had just lost.

Ivy grumbled a lot as she stomped up to the fire. The group parted for her as she walked. She threw the foot down onto the fire with as much anger as possible and there was a small explosion as the foot combusted. Vivian cross her arms and flicked her hair as she turned back to the group.

"I hope you're bloody happy," she mumbled. She turned to face the group. "I doubt this is the last time we see each other." Jason groaned and she looked offended. "You should be happier. I'm one hell of a girl."

"If I ever see you again-" Reyna growled.

"I'm dead?" Vivian guessed. "I know. I love you too." The group watched her go, storming away from them and grumbling angrily.

They were pretty quiet as they walked out of the graveyard, not exactly sure what to think of the whole affair. Annabeth carried the fire tools and Nico and Reyna had their arms over each other's shoulders. They won, and life could be peaceful for the first time in forever.

"Oh!" Percy exclaimed. "I almost forgot, we still have the lottery tickets." He reached in his pocket, a huge grin on his face at their last stroke of luck. However, the look faded and his hands came out of his pocket clean.

"Where'd they go?" Reyna asked, her hand in Jason's.

They group paused as they heard a tire squeal and a horn honk in goodbye. They realised that the thief had struck again. There was a long pause before Percy yelled: "SON OF A BITCH!" angrily.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Last year, we pulled 10 admirable guests," Reyna mused, "this year I'm aiming for twenty." She stood in a changing room, calling out to Annabeth. Every year the college hosted a sort of goodbye gala for the seniors.

Kind of like a prom, but with more class. Fountain, tiled mosaic floors, champagne. Reyna, as always, was in charge. Every year they invited New Rome's 'finest'. People who had gone to the college who became successful writers, musicians, lawyers. Things the college students aspired to be, so they could get advice about where to go next.

"You know," Annabeth said, from outside the changing room, "blackmailing people to come doesn't count."

"You know Camille went into labour this morning?" Reyna asked, clearly trying to change the subject to avoid suspicion. Annabeth sniggered. "That baby's going to do some things that make all the other babies hate her."

"Yeah, I heard," she replied. "Percy went to go and visit her. I thought we would go around later and send our… support. You know, about her quitting her evil ways. Oh, and for taking her final exams as a mother."

"If you suggest we do some babysitting, the answer is no," Reyna sighed, opening up the changing room and going to stand in front of a larger mirror, getting a better look at the gown she was trying on.

"Come on," Annabeth said. "We weren't always innocent in this rivalry."

"The bitch deserved boot camp," Reyna rolled her eyes. "Does everybody forget that she _actually_ has friends of her own?"

Annabeth just shook her head as she looked up at Reyna's dress. "You look super hot by the way," she commented.

Reyna turned to her a scrunched her nose, smiling. "You think?"

"Yeah," Annabeth nodded. "Jason's going to have the hottest date there."

Reyna grinned as she turned back to the changing room to get back changed. "Apart from Percy's date," she said. "I heard she's gorgeous." She heard Annabeth laugh. "Well, she was less hot when her roommate caught her mixing vodka with mayonnaise at three in the morning…?"

Annabeth groaned. "A) that was marshmallow fluff!" she exclaimed. "And B) … I'm kind of stressed at the moment."

"Evidently," Reyna said. "Where the hell is Jason, by the way?"

"I'm here," called an out-of-breath voice. "The exam went on longer than I thought it would, and then my coffee was decaf and I couldn't find my phone…" he stopped rambling as Reyna stepped out of the changing room and handed the bagged dress to a worker in the shop.

"I'll put this one on hold," she smiled. Then she turned to her boyfriend, a mean look on her face.

"I know that look," Annabeth whispered to Jason. "That look is not your friend."

"I told you not to be late," she scolded. "Now we might be late to our appointment at the tailors, and you know I don't like being late." Annabeth resisted the urge to laugh. Reyna was very serious about almost everything. Most people thought her control-freakiness was a joke, but nope.

"Sorry," he said. "Besides, I have the suit on hold all ready, so all you need to do is pick out the tie."

"Why can't you pick up your own tie?" Annabeth asked, taking a clipboard out of Reyna's bag and scanning it.

"It needs to be colour-coordinated with Reyna's dress," Jason answered. Annabeth laughed before realising he was serious.

"Why?"

"Because I'm a control freak," Reyna answered, rolling her eyes. "But also because we are two very important ex praetors who lead Rome out of war. Twice on my part. And know we're dating and graduating college so there will be a lot of people there who we need to uphold an empire-known reputation with."

"An empire-known reputation?" Annabeth asked.

"Rome is an empire," Reyna shrugged.

"And you're going to uphold your reputation via matching ties?" Annabeth asked.

"I'm sorry, do you have an empire-known reputation?" Reyna asked, sarcastically. "I didn't think so." Annabeth laughed and Jason shrugged at her, wearing a look that said: _my girlfriends crazy, help?_ "Are you sure you can handle this?" Reyna asked Annabeth.

Annabeth looked at the clipboard, at all the highlighted things Reyna wanted Annabeth to take care of before the gala. "If you can take care of all of this, then I can take care of a fraction of it," she answered.

"I gave you all the architecture stuff," Reyna said. "That's kind of your forte."

Annabeth paused, studying the clipboard. "You're doing so much work for this gala," Annabeth mused, running her hand over the pages, reading the lists of things Reyna had to do that Annabeth wouldn't even have thought of.

"No more than she did organising Feasts of Fortunas," Jason whispered, earning him a hit over the head from a glaring Reyna. "You even created seating plans for Senate Meetings!" He exclaimed, defensively.

"That's because people wanted Serena and Carolyn to sit next to each other, even when Serena abandoned Carolyn at an airport, leaving Carolyn alone and humiliated in Tuscany," Reyna said. "Did we want a Cat-Fight in the middle of a war-declaring meeting? I don't know what you're expecting, but last time I checked, I'm a caffeine-addicted control freak who thrives on being in charge."

Jason smirked as he kissed her. "And that is why I love you!"

Annabeth looked confused. "This city," she sighed.

* * *

 **A/N: REMINDER: Instead of Gossip Girl, this last dilemma is going to be based off of my favourite episode of Supernatural.**

 **Ugh, sorry it took me so long to update! I just escaped exam week, so I was kind of swamped. I did terribly, for anybody who wanted to ask. Anyway, I'm behind on so much fanfiction, but luckily, there's the Easter Holiday coming up so yay! More time. This story, however, will likely be finished by then. EEK!**

 **Okay, so that sequel collection of one-shots will definitely go forth! I have a few ideas down, but I want to take requests, so start making prompts and I'll start writing! Two chapter to go until this story finishes! I have a couple of other projects I'm working on. Including the re-writing of my Jeyna series and a little something else that's going to be a surprise.**

 **PLUS: Me and a few other fanfiction authors are launching a new fanfiction project in April! In a lot of books and TV shows, mental health issues are not addressed as much as they should be. Even when it makes sense for a certain character to be suffering with a mental health problem. Our project Mental-Health-Fictions addresses this issue through fanfiction! People can send in their personal experiences and we can raise awareness for this through their favourite characters! We're looking for more people to get involved with this, so please let me know!**

 **Thank you for reading! Please reeevvviiieeewww! -Izzy**


	39. Chapter 39

**Quick A/N: If you're interested in what songs I imagine going along with the scenes here, I have listed them below:**

 **Andrew Belle - In My Veins  
Marlisa - Stand by You  
Ross Copperman - Hunger (seriously, listen to this one. Percabeth dance. Epic song)  
Kelly Clarkson - Because of You  
We The Kings - Just Keep Breathing  
Charlie Puth - One Call Away  
Rhianna - Stay (Jeyna dance)  
Kari Kimmel - Where you Belong**

* * *

 **CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE:** _Family Ties_

Heels clicked along the hardwood floors as people started filing into the room. It was a large space, surprisingly warm, although it didn't look like it. There was a marble white fountain in the centre of the room, spewing water in different artistic ways, like the liquid was dancing with them. There were a few circular tables dotted around the side of half the room with pyramids of champagne glasses stacked on them. Everyone attending was above the age of twenty-one, so the champagne, whilst celebratory, was free-for-all.

On the other side of the room, there were a few small couches for people to sit down, if the high heels ever became overwhelming, or if someone was tired of dancing. Groups of young adults mingled here, drinking champagne and reminiscing fondly on the last four years of their lives. They all were tuxedos and ball gowns, lifting up skirts and straightening ties, pulling out contact mirrors to check the hair they spent an hour working on.

The room itself looked almost like a tent. The walls were draped with white blankets that hung loosely off the ceiling, meeting in the middle to creating a triangular ceiling. The blankets were draped with fairy lights, and lasers of blue and gold danced around the room, lighting everyone up with a beautiful glow.

Outside the entrance of the tent was a red carpet, travelling in zig-zags. At every corner of this carpet was a large television screen, each playing different presentations. The presentations showed different picture of the students amongst the four years at New Rome's college. A few pictures caught the guest's eyes as they walked down the carpet into the destination. Pictures of themselves.

Annabeth stopped in her tracks when she saw one of her and Jason smiling as they talked through a chariot race. "Reyna took that picture," she whispered. Her arm was linked through Percy's as they walked up to the tent. "It was a good day."

Percy leaned over and kissed her temple as they kept walking. A few more pictures caught their eyes. Jason and Percy across a table at a café, hand in hand as they arm wrestled. One of Reyna and Annabeth walking across the right bank in Paris. That was before Annabeth thought Percy was dead. There was one of Jason and Reyna's first kiss on top of the Ferris wheel, although Annabeth had no idea who took it. Reyna told her they were all alone that night. There was one of Percy and Reyna in matching aprons, their arms linking around each other's as they each ate a doughnut.

Each picture made Annabeth's smile widen.

"These screens are going to make me nauseous," Percy grumbled, but Annabeth could tell he loved the slideshows too. "Have I already told you, you look stunning tonight?"

She wore a long, lilac gown with a sweetheart neckline and spaghetti straps. The wavy skirts fell over each other and a silk strip ran around her waist, keeping the dress tight about her torso but flimsy around her legs. She wore white high heels with it and held a clutch bag that looked almost as though it was made of marble. She wore silver and gold bracelets and a beautiful silver necklace with diamonds hanging off it. She wore silver earrings that reminded her of the fountain, almost like little droplets of water. Her blonde hair was half pinned up, falling around her shoulders in its natural curls.

Annabeth nodded. "When you first saw me. When we left the apartment, thrice when we walked over here, once about two minutes ago. Have I mentioned that you look hot in a suit?" Percy wore a matt, dark grey suit with a bow tie. It was well fitted and paired with some office shoes. His hair was neater than usual, but still spiky at the top.

He shook his head. "But I like the sound of that, so feel free to say it again." She laughed and leaned her head a little on his shoulder as they walked into the tent like dancefloor. "Reyna really has out-done herself," Percy mused, looking around.

"Are we supposed to drink first, or dance?" Annabeth asked.

Percy scanned the room before his eyes fell on a certain guest. "I should probably say hi," he mused. "Make sure she's doing okay." Annabeth nodded, seeming understanding.

"I'll go and find Jason," she mused. "Give her my support."

Percy nodded. He walked across the dance floor and found Camille by the champagne. "I haven't had a drink in nine months," she said, sipping from the glass. Percy smirked and took a glass for himself, treading with extreme caution, as to not knock the entire pyramid over. "You look dashing."

"Thank you," he nodded. "You clean up nicely. Especially after a recent childbirth." Camille still had the slightest of bumps, but she seemed to be working it off quickly. She wore a simple silver dress with sparkly straps. "How is Amy, by the way?

Camille smiled. She pulled out a picture of the baby and showed Percy. "She's perfect," she answered. "Every mother's dream." Percy took the picture and smiled at it. "My brother is babysitting her tonight."

At first, Percy was shocked she had a brother, but then he realised that, as the child of a God, she probably had loads of siblings dotted around New Rome. "She seems wonderful," he said, handing the picture back. "Glad you could make it tonight. Annabeth sends her support."

"I've been meaning to apologise to Annabeth," Camille said. "And Reyna, Jason and you." Percy looked confused, so she elaborated. "I look back at everything you guys have gone through if it weren't for me. Everyone would be fine without me."

She stated it like a fact and not self-doubt. "Cami," Percy paused. "Gods, no."

"You think it yourself," she said.

"No," he convinced her. "I don't."

There was a pause. "Well, dance with me," she asked. "Please. I haven't been this bored since I believed in Jesus."

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Having fun?" Jason asked, walking up next to Annabeth. She was watching Percy and Camille dance. She wasn't jealous because she knew it wasn't a romantic dance. She knew Percy would behave, and that Camille knew better than to start something. But still, the answer to Jason's question was obvious.

"No," she mused. "But this took about two hours," she added, gesturing at her hair, make-up and general appearance. "So I'm at least staying that long."

"Hey, this is a good night," he said, looking around the room. "And Reyna set it up, so she'd kill you if you didn't stay until the end." He held his hand out to Annabeth and she took it, letting him lead her out onto the dance floor.

"It's true, this night it great," Annabeth mused. "I've always tried to make my life look like the movie in my head, and this night requires no effort." Jason sniggered. "But if this is supposed to be the happiest night of college… why do I feel so sad?"

Jason smiled, spinning her around as they danced. "Because something is ending, Annabeth," he answered. "Because in a week or two, this whole thing is finished and we all leave to live different lives. Because everything's about to change for the way we've shaped our lives in the last four years."

"Trust me, I'm glad to be leaving his place," she mused. "The amount of heartache it's caused me… it's hardly worth it." Honestly, she didn't even believe what she was saying. It was just what she should have been thinking, and not what she actually thought.

"It was worth it," Jason said, honestly meaning it. "The good, the bad. The death scares, the wedding scare, the drug-addiction scare." Annabeth actually laughed a little. "We were meant to come here and face it. It's turned us into better people."

"Who let you get so insightful?" she demanded. "This night already feels like a memory."

"That's true," Jason said. "But what's so bad about that?"

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Camille looks incredible," Annabeth huffed, standing by the punch bowl. Percy had just walked over to her and was smirking like an idiot. "You would not believe she gave birth last week. That's not fair."

"Someone sounds jealous," Percy said, offering his hand for her to hold. She scowled at him but took it. "Wise Girl," he smirked.

"Seaweed Brain," she retorted. He led her out onto the dance floor and spun her under his arm. "You know I hate you, right?" she asked. "With a burning passion."

He laughed, leaning his forehead on hers. "Is that so?"

She nodded. "Every nerve ending in my body is electrified with hatred," she mused.

"Oh we're electric alright," he said, pressing his flat hand against hers. Their fingers moved around each other's and Percy wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close. "But not with hatred." Annabeth smirked and leaned her head on his shoulder. She stayed there, enjoying the peace, Percy's warm body pressed against hers. He whispered sweet nothings in her ear as they danced, swaying her across the dance floor and acting as though nobody else was there.

They were magical in each other's arms. They knew how each other moved, when and where to step. There was once a time when they were awkward and fumbling, but not anymore. They knew each other so well; it was hard to remember that they were not one being.

But Percy being Percy, had to ruin it. "Do you have your speech ready for graduation tomorrow?" he asked.

She grumbled and pulled away, not ending the dance, but making it less intimate. "Don't remind me," she said. "I actually don't. I have nothing, not one word." Percy's eyebrows furrowed together, confused.

"But you were up all night working on it," he said.

"Yeah, but then I realised what I was writing about had no relevance to Graduation," she huffed. "I was originally writing about the teachers getting us through this. A wrote about someone who supports you unconditionally. I wrote about someone who would never give up on you, and set the bar really high. I wrote about someone who, with their compassion, could get you through any problem."

"I'm sure your teachers would be flattered," Percy smirked, spinning her around again. Her skirts got puffier with air every time she spun.

"They would be," Annabeth whispered, leaning in closer to him and sighing. "But when I got side tracked, I started writing about someone who would always find their way back to you. An epic love that wouldn't let you escape. Two people who were meant to be. I was writing it about you."

Percy paused before leaning down to kiss her cheek. "I will always support you unconditionally," he promised. "I will never give up on you, and I will always set the bar high. I will help you through any problem and I will always find my way back to you."

She smiled up at him, almost smirking in his eyes. "And why would you do that?" she asked, looking adoringly into his eyes as he spun her around.

There was a short pause. "Because I'm in love with you," he whispered in her ear.

They were silent for the rest of the dance, enjoying the simple yet unforgettable love between them.

-0-0-0-0-0-

When Reyna walked into the party she pushed her chin up and looked around proudly. She had created a very good night. She had only arrived late because she needed to pick Michael up. He was doing much better and was talking to his doctors and visitors now, so there was no reason he couldn't be there. She wanted him to be there.

"I did good, right?" she asked, turning to him and smiling. "You're the writer. If you had to sum up this night in one word, what would it be?" Michael stood next to her, wearing a light grey suit and tie. He looked around the place and paused.

"Overwhelming," he decided. Reyna was wearing an orangey-pink gown with a one-shoulder strap. It was made of silk and tight around the torso, but past her waist, it fell in a thin skirt down to her feet. It had a small slit in the leg and the smallest of trains. With it she wore strappy gold shoes and gold and pink bracelets. She had a necklace decorated with pink and gold flowers and a clutch bag. She had dangly earing that matched her necklace. Her hair was braided down her back with a thing of silver weaved through it.

Reyna sighed. "Any time during the night you want to leave, just say the word," she told him, putting her hands on his arms in a calming manner. "I'll take you right back home. I promise."

He turned to her, looking somewhat doubtful. "I know you're just pretending to be my friend again," he told her. She looked down. It was partially the truth. Part of her couldn't forgive him. But she didn't need to. She still cared about him and still wanted to give him a good college send off.

"We should get some champagne," she said, making a move towards the pyramids on one side of the room. "Oh wait, you're not allowed to drink, are you?" He was on a Visitor's Leave for the night, and they had certain rules.

"I knew you'd forget that," he sighed, sounding disappointed.

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked.

"It means that you're not even taking this seriously," he accused. "You're just using me as your charity case for this party. I'm actually suffering here and you can't even nod your head and pretend like you care."

Reyna paused, scoffing. Part of her couldn't believe he just said that to her. The other part was expecting it. "I put a lot of work into tonight," she said. "And I wanted to share it with you. Is that so hard to believe?"

"Yeah, it is," he told her. "I'm going to find Camille." He stormed off and she sighed, watching him leave.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Do you think we'll stay friends?" Jason asked. He sat with Percy on one of the couches to one side, watching the party and sipping champagne. "I mean, if we both split up to lead separate lives, we're bound to… I don't know… fall apart."

"What are you trying to say?" Percy asked, setting his almost-full glass down. Even as an adult, alcohol was icky. "Do you think this might be the last moment where we are actually friends?"

"Yeah," Jason said. "No, I mean, I don't think that. I'm just stating that it could be a possibility. I mean, we'd be nice to each other in the future. But will that just be because we want to continue tradition?"

Percy looked kind of confused. He didn't like the amount of faith Jason had in their bromance. "I'd probably drag you back into my drama at some point," he mused. "Supernatural or otherwise."

Jason nodded, looking kind of sad. His suit was shinier than Percy's, and his bowtie was straighter. His hair was neater, combed over the top. They both looked pretty damn good that night. They had a few girls and one boy ask for a dance, but they had politely turned them down. They knew their motives were a little more than friendly, and Annabeth and Reyna wouldn't approve.

"Why are you thinking like this, anyway?" Percy asked him. "I'm over here thinking about how good we look, and you're thinking about how we're not going to be friends anymore. What?!"

Jason sniggered. "We do look hot," he agreed. "I'm just sad. This whole college thing is coming to a close, and I don't want it to. I don't want to drift apart from you if we lead different lives."

"We won't," Percy said. Then he grumbled. "Okay, this is about to get really mushy. But when I lost everything, I still had you. When you had nothing but bad luck, you still had me. You never gave up on finding me when I got shot, and I never gave up on saving you when you were cursed."

"Exactly," Jason said. "The friendship we have means a lot to me, and I don't want to grow apart from that."

"What I was trying to say was," Percy said, "look at everything the two of us have survived. Not including Gaea, stopping a war together. Losing our memories and swapping places." He smiled at Jason. "I like our odds."

Jason smiled and the two hugged. Not a hard, man-hug, but a genuine one. "We should make brobies," Percy whispered in his ear.

Jason pulled away. "What the hell is that?"

"Bro babies," Percy answered, smirking. "Like gaybies but platonic." There was a pause before they both laughed. "Excuse me," Percy said, getting to his feet. "I'm going to go and dance with your girlfriend. Bye!"

He jogged across the dancefloor to Reyna, smiling at her and leading her into a dance as a new song came on. Annabeth was talking to one of New Rome's finest architects to talk about the future of her career, but Percy knew she wouldn't mind. Reyna was her best friend.

"Sometimes I wonder if my boyfriend is more in love with me or you," she mused as they danced.

Percy laughed. "It's me," he said. "Sorry you had to find out this way." Reyna laughed with him. She had looked sad before Percy came over. "You seem upset about something. Tell me." She paused before shaking her head. "Talk to Uncle Percy."

That made her laugh again. "Michael said I didn't care," she answered, her face falling slightly after the laugh. "I mean; how could he say that? How could he honestly believe that?"

Percy paused. "Maybe because he isn't an easy person to care about," he suggested.

Reyna rolled her eyes, huffing. "Okay, but not for me," she said, defensively. "I mean, I made it possible for him to come here tonight. Half my college experience had been dedicated to him. I care."

"I know that," Percy told her, nodding. "But… maybe you shouldn't. Stop worrying about what Michael thinks and what he says. You don't have to constantly watch out for him. Just… let it happen."

"I can't," she admitted. "If you love someone, you never really stop, you know? Even if it's not romantic anymore. I can't just turn it off like a switch. That's not how caring for someone works."

Percy smiled at her. "You know," he mused, "when I first met you, I wasn't convinced you were human."

"Oh yeah?" she laughed.

He nodded. "Yeah. You seemed pretty heartless and cold. But now, I see that you've got so much love to give." He started laughing at the phrase at the end of that sentence, and Reyna joined in.

"To go along with my hatred," she said. "Speaking of which, Camille looks pretty good for someone who just gave birth."

"Don't be hateful," Percy scolded. "By the way, you did an amazing job of this night. Everyone's saying so."

"Thank you," she smiled. "I was afraid the theme was too ordinary."

Percy scoffed. "You are anything but ordinary," he told her. The song ended and Percy spun Reyna around one last time. She landed in the arms of Jason. She sniggered at the cheesy move, and looked back to smile at Percy.

Jason led her into another dance as a new song started. She couldn't stop her eyes from flicking around the room, trying to spot flaws in her party plan. She had perfected this evening, and she was damn well going to solve any problems that arose. When Jason spun her under his arm however, her eyes matched his and she smiled, leaning into his chest.

"This evening is perfect, Reyna," Jason said, making her smile even wider. Her skirt swayed around her toes as Jason spun her across the dance floor. "Congratulations. I've seen your best work, and this night tops it."

"Thank you," she smiled. "Although I'm not entirely sure orange is my colour."

He almost laughed. "Reyna, you look like a Goddess tonight," he said, leaning down to kiss her cheek.

"Well you look incredibly handsome in that suit," she returned, leaning further into his embrace. "I love you in suits, Jason. Have I ever told you that? So dashing." Jason laughed and they were silent for a minute, listening to the song and enjoying each others arms around them. "I arranged a job interview yesterday."

He looked down at her, confused. "Oh yeah? Why am I only hearing about this now?"

She smirked. "It's for a news show," she said. "I mean, at first I'll be running around getting coffee and setting up lights, but the person I spoke with on the phone said that my Resume was so promising that they would consider having me as a substitute on a few programmes. And that sounds lame but for someone my age... well it's bigger than that girl's hair."

Jason turned to the girl she was looking at and smirked. Her hair was a little too big. "That's incredible, Reyna!" he exclaimed. "I'm so happy for you."

"For us," she corrected. "The pay is really, really good. Especially for someone who just finished college. It'll be enough to pay for that Medical school you wanted to go to." Jason paused before remembering. When he was fourteen he had had an entire conversation with Reyna, going on and on about this one medical school in Chicago that he wanted to go to.

He had been so young during that memory. It was the same time where Reyna was planning college, the classes the two of them would take together, and the societies they would join. The apartment they would share and the carpet she wanted for her bedroom. It was a good memory.

"That's Chicago, Reyna," he whispered, a little shocked, admittedly.

"I'll be earning enough to start a rent on an apartment," she added. "We could live together, and you might need a part-time job, but we'll be stable."

Jason's mouth was wide. "Reyna... this is incredible! I mean, are we really going to do this?"

She shrugged, spinning around once again in his arms. "It is still your dream, right?" He lifted his hand from her waist and cupped her cheek as he leaned down to kiss her. She kissed back and when they pulled apart, Jason rested his forehead against hers.

"You're my dream," he replied. He tried to pull apart but she kept him close.

"Don't let go," she whispered. "Not now, not ever. I love you, Jason Grace."

"I love you too," he replied. "Always have, always will."

Reyna doubted she had ever been as happy as she was in that exact moment, wrapped up in Jason's arms, completely and utterly at peace.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"There you are," Annabeth mused. She was walking out of the tent, his skirt in on hand so she could walk with ease, Reyna was sat on the red carpet outside, watching one screen which focused on their group of friends especially. Annabeth sat down with her and wrapped an arm around her. "What's up?"

"Michael almost ruined my night," Reyna replied, leaning into Annabeth. "Don't bother comforting me. Jason and Percy already cheered me up about the whole thing."

Annabeth smirked. "They have a habit of doing that," she mused. "I'm sorry, Rey."

"It's fine," Reyna huffed. "This has been a good night."

"Not for me," Annabeth said. "I'm super sad college is ending."

Reyna looked at her, confused. "What college did you go to?" she asked. "There was so much sadness and drama. I'm glad it's over." She looked at Annabeth expectantly, waiting for an explanation about what was so good about it.

"Reyna, we had the exact same college experience," Annabeth reminded her. "The classes, the teachers, the tests. The crazy boyfriends and the summer holidays! We went through it all together. We saved each other. You are my sister."

Reyna turned to her then, smiling. "What is you, is me," she quoted, grinning at Annabeth. "Everything you do is something I do, too."

"Exactly," Annabeth said, leaning on Reyna's shoulder and looking up at the stars. "Right now, I am exactly where I want to be."

* * *

 **A/N: So, last chapter is the next one. This chapter shows the last one-on-one relationship scenes here. Next chapter's pretty much the four of them all together, and it's the graduation! I may cry because this story is going to be finished.**

 **Seriously, listen to Ross Copperman - Hunger. It's the song I imagined the Percabeth dance scene to. It. Is. Amazing. It should also be noted that originally, Reyna was going to wear the Lilac dress and Annabeth was going to wear the pinkie orange one. But nobody ever write Reyna in orange of Annabeth in purple so I decided to mix things up a little.**

 **I noticed the mistake last chapter. I wrote 'Camille' instead of 'Ivy'. I think its been fixed. Thanks for letting me know. Thanks for all your supportive and kind reviews in general.**

 **I got one review and I meant to write something about it last chapter, about TalkFictions: There are loads of fanfiction rip-off sites on the internet. I checked the website out and it is copyrighting this one. I sent out a blast a few months ago about reporting these websites. I won't copy the instuctions here, but if you go to my story: "Shadowhunter Drabbles" and click on Chapter Ten, there are instructions on how to report these websites. Thanks for letting me know this.**

 **The next chapter is the last! I will be writing that sequel drabble collection afterwards. It'll be set in Chicago. Plus, I would like to completely ignore "It's Called Christmas" in regards to the sequel drabble collection, as I kind of want to do some things different. Plus, I have two other Jeyna projects (one of which is also Percabeth) so I'll keep you guys updated with that.**

 **PLEASE REVIEW ILY -Izzy**


	40. Chapter 40

**CHAPTER FORTY:** _Time of Our Lives_

 **"Nobody expected college to be easy. We all knew it wouldn't be. Not one single person thought they could come to college, ace the exams, and leave with nothing but happy memories."**

 _Annabeth remembered when Percy went missing, when she spent months looking for him, thought he had lost his memories of his, gone out of her own mind with worry. She remembered parting from him again to fight Arachne, a quest that only she could have undertaken. She remembered almost dying at the spider's hand, before tricking her into falling into Tartarus. She remembered Percy refusing to let her go as Arachne dragged her down with her. She remembered travelling through Tartarus with Percy. The couple had made it out of Hell for God's sake!_  
 _"We made it," she muttered, sighing._

 _She straightened up and faced Mrs Chase. Her step-mother smiled weakly at her. "I am so proud of you," she said. "Don't you ever think otherwise. Annabeth I know in the past that... Look I'm just trying to say: I'm sorry if I made you feel like... Like you didn't have a home with us, that I hated you. I don't. I married your father when you were five and I watched you grow into this strong, smart, independent woman. You are my child, and I love you!"_

 _"He's fine," Percy laughed, rolling his eyes. "His girlfriend dumped him and he's too cool to show it, but secretly he's listening to Ron Rope's drop in the ocean."_  
 _"This is Down by Jason Walker," Jason said, pointing to his headphones. "Dumb ass."_

 _"We should let go before I change my mind and drag you home with me," Sally said._  
 _"Okay, go!" Percy ordered them, making them laugh a little. "Before I change my mind and make you stay!"_

 **"But nobody expected it to be this hard."**

 _"I am not a drug addict, Percy," Annabeth said, coldly through gritted teeth. They stood in her dorm room and he couldn't help but notice how sick she looked. She wore a t-shirt and leggings and her hair was falling out of a messy bun. Her eyes had dark bags underneath them and her skin was as pale as Nico's._  
 _"I'm not saying you are," he said, holding his hands up in surrender. "Annabeth, none of this is your fault-"_  
 _"Okay, let me stop you there," she said. "Even if I was addicted, which I'm not, it still wouldn't be my fault. Addiction is nobody's fault, okay? And it's my prescribed medication-"_  
 _"Annabeth," he interrupted. He put his hands on her shoulder and knelt down a little to look her in the eye. "You haven't slept for 84 hours! Your medication has become stronger than you need and that's not your fault, but these things happen and it needs to be-"_  
 _Annabeth shrugged him off and snapped. "What do you know about it? Huh?"_

 _"You were," she mused, still looking away from him, "supposed to be better than this."_  
 _"I was," he said, simply. There was another, really long pause. "Look, Cam-"_  
 _"DON'T!" Annabeth exclaimed at the top of her lungs. The anger had kicked in. She glared at him, growling slightly and Percy wouldn't have been surprised if she was seeing red. She screeched the word, but what she said afterwards was dangerously calm. "Don't say her name to me. Or anything else ever again."_

 _"And you're not even the least bit sorry?" Reyna asked._  
 _Michae paused, looking her in the eye with a completely blank face. "No," he said. "No, I'm not sorry. I want to be one of those writers who will do anything for a good story. One of the reasons why I even went out with you."_  
 _Her eyes widened. "So all of that, our entire relationship… was a lie?"_  
 _Then he looked confused before shaking his head. "No! No, of course not. That's ridiculous. I have done some truly horrible things, and I honestly doubt I have morals. But I swear, I have never once lied to you about how I feel about you."_  
 _"No," she whispered, taking a step away from him. She was really just trying not to punch him. "No, you said you loved me, Michael. You couldn't say these things about me if you loved me!"_

 _He was simply looking at the radiator when it began smoking and making funny noises. "Wha-" Jason grumbled. "Come on!" He paused before getting up and walking to it. He would rather fix it and burn himself than let it explode. Except after touching it for a second it caught on fire, with his trousers. "Damn it!" Jason exclaimed._  
 _He used the curtain to try and put the fire out and it worked. But he also got tangled up in the curtain and fell to the floor, ripping the fabric off its railings and hitting his head, knocking himself out, exposing him to the window that Reyna had insisted he kept covered._  
 _Now he knew why. Because outside was Jim, the prison breaker, who was wondering where the hell Jason was and how he could find him. And Jason had revealed himself in a big flaming curtain before passing out. Just his luck._  
 _"Well that was easy," Jim smirked. By the time Annabeth got there, Jason was missing._

 **"We have gone through things no other friends have experienced. It wasn't hard, but we survived because we had each other."**

 _Percy and Jason both replied at the same time, the same thing they said when any body asked them to do anything. "Dude, we saved the world, okay? Give us a break!" Percy said. At the same time, Jason said: "We literally saved the world. Chill!"_  
 _"Your effort has been appreciated," the coach replied after a pause. "But put in some effort now, please?! Just put the chocolate down!"_  
 _"I fell into hell," Percy said. "It was very traumatic! I deserve a Kit Kat!"_  
 _"Oh yeah?" The coach asked, nodding to Jason. "What's his excuse?"_  
 _Jason paused, finishing his Kit Kat as he looked from Percy to the coach. "My best friend fell into hell! This is comfort food!" Percy nodded enthusiastically._  
 _"But he's out now-" the coach started._  
 _Percy interrupted. "But we're both still traumatised by the experience! Can you give us a break please?" The coach huffed before storming off. Jason and Percy turned back to each other._

 _"Guys," Reyna complained, pulling out her headphones and putting her work folders down on her desk. "Come on, I live here. Percy, put some pants on."_  
 _Annabeth threw Percy's jeans at him and he scrambled into them. Other than that, they ignored Reyna's presence and kept bickering. "You know, they say if you love something, you should set it free," he said as she pushed him out the door._  
 _"They say if you hate something you should slam the door in it's face," she replied, preparing to slam the door in his face._  
 _"I love it when you talk dirty, Annabeth," he said, as the door slammed. Annabeth turned back to Reyna and smiled._

 _"You seem excited," Jason said. "I know your excited face. It's a little different from your sad face, neither of which stray too far from your hey it's Tuesday! face."_  
 _Reyna raised an eyebrow. "I get it. You think I'm too serious, is that it?"_  
 _He shrugged. "Well I wasn't going to say it like that, but…"_  
 _"Are you saying I'm predictable?" he asked, pretending to be hurt._  
 _She flicked a strand of hair out of her face and smiled at him. "Well I wasn't going to say it like that, but…"_

 _"You drill it into my head twenty-four/seven," Percy said. "Everything you say is about the patriarchy. I get it, Reyna."_  
 _Reyna's eyebrows knitted together. "I'm not that bad, am I?"_  
 _"You are," he shrugged. "But it's cool, you know? It's your thing. Own it. Besides, you're probably right."_  
 _"I'm always right," she shrugged._

 _"This is the best trip ever," Reyna sighed, her head leaning on Annabeth's shoulder._  
 _"I know, right?" Annabeth said, back. "I never want to vacation with my family again._  
 _"Do you think we'll ever use the other bed?" Reyna asked. The two girls looked over to the second double bed, which they had cruelly neglected the entire trip. They were both close enough to sleep in the same bed and it was more comfortable in unknown places._  
 _"Nah," Annabeth said. "I kind of feel sorry for it though."_

 _Jason looked at her and back to the pile of books she was taking out of the library. "How fast are you planning on reading these?"_  
 _Annabeth shrugged. "It'll only take a couple of days. Jason, watch these as I go and get a couple more."_  
 _He paused, watching her as she walked back to the bookshelves. "Are you an alien?" he called after her. "You have to tell me if you're an alien." She ignored him as she went back into the shelves. Jason turned back to the Librarian who was looking very confused. Jason just shrugged. "She's an alien."_

 **"We survived. And that is an accomplishment. When I stood up here today, everybody expected what I had to say to be happy, and hide all the bad stuff. But college tried to destroy us and we survived. We don't need to hide that."**

 _When Annabeth woke up, she didn't know where she was. She was sick and tired of waking up in strange places with some form on amnesia. She was in a large, thick bed and she seemed to be alone in a dark, warm room. She was comfortable, but her head hurt, she could barely see past the flashing lights in her mind and she wanted to throw up her guts and cry about it._

 _As Percy lost consciousness, the guys looked over the box, opening it up and raising their eyebrows at the silver engagement ring, already making guesses of what it was worth. They ran off, leaving Percy alone, weak, drunk and dying in the dark, wet alleyway._

 _Reyna was more upset about it than the other three. She once loved Michael. Perhaps she was not in love, but she almost was, and she loved him in a way. She thought it was bad when he wrote about her and tried to ruin her, but it was worse when she knew why. She looked into the cold metal room, where Michael was sat facing them, without actually seeing them. The blanket he had wrapped around him. His skin was almost the same colour as the grey walls._

 _"I was walking down a street, trying to brainstorm places you could be," Jim continued. "When I saw a curtain ripped down and you flailing around on fire." She heard a barrel click and knew the gun was pointed at Jason's head._

 **"There are people who will say our success is down to them. That they are the reason we are here today. We can't believe them. We are here because we built our own success."**

 _Only now her eyes had begun to glisten. "I don't love you anymore," she said, confidently. Then she smirked at him. "But it takes more than even you to destroy Annabeth Chase."_

 _Reyna just smiled sweetly, a sight that people only saw when she was being incredibly sarcastic. "Haven't you heard?" Reyna asked, leaning in so only Camille could hear her. "I'm the crazy bitch around here."_

 _"You don't have to have no one," Jason said. "Nobody forced you to do horrible things, you could have easily just made friends instead of enemies."_

 _All of the pieces began to click in his mind. In the dream he carried Annabeth. In the dream, her life was the reason to keep moving, to keep fighting to get to the beach. In reality, the thought and worry of Annabeth was motivating him to keep going to the nearest source of water._  
 _In the dream he carried Annabeth. In reality Annabeth carried him._

 **"So when you are up here on this stage, understand that you are here because you deserve this."**

The words echoed around the large field, drawing in smiles of pride from the crowd. Once again, the mortals of the world were allowed brief and temporary access into New Rome, so they could see their children or siblings get on stage and graduate. Mixed with families of New Rome and siblings from Camp Jupiter, they made quite the crowd.

They all sat in folding seats, in two perfectly square sections of rows on the grass. Up front was a wooden podium with a large banner behind it. It was purple with gold stitching and had the large Camp Jupiter symbol on it. Underneath it read _The Class of 2016_.

In front of the banner, on the wooden podium was another, much smaller row of chairs, hosting the board of governors, the Dean, the praetors. In front of them stood a microphone coming out of one of those wooden stands. Annabeth stood there, wearing a deep purple gown and graduation cap with a gold tassel. She was grinning more than she thought she ever had.

 **"Thank you, for this moment."**

She finished her speech and there was a round of applause from the crowd. Mr and Mrs Chase could be seen from the crowd, sat with Bobby and Michael, her brothers. They all beamed up at her, proudly and she winked at them. From behind the crowd, for a split second, she could have sworn she saw somebody else watching her. Someone with dark hair and grey eyes. But they vanished before she could get a proper look.

One of the board members got up from his seat and shook Annabeth's hand before she went to join her other graduates. They stood in a line next to the stage, all wearing the same purple gown and graduations caps over their suits and dresses.

There was a roll call. The board member that shook Annabeth's hand called out one name after another, and one by one they all walked up on stage, shook his hand, said thank you, and got their degrees.

Out of the group, Annabeth went first. "Annabeth Chase," the board member called out into the microphone. She walked back on stage and collected two degrees instead of one. One in architecture and one in environmental studies. She shook the man's hand and grinned out to her parents. She also caught Thalia's eyes and she looked proud. She still looked fifteen, and Annabeth was in her early twenties. But Thalia had raised her.

"Thank you," Annabeth smiled, waving her degrees excitedly as she walked off stage.

There were a lot more names called before the next in the group. "Jason Grace," called the board member. Jason looked like he was born to wear that cap and gown when he walked on the stage. He held himself with pride and grinned as the crowd cheered. He had one degree in that science course he was taking.

"Thank you," he grinned over the noise of the crowd. Thalia had bought a few Hunters with her, who decided to whoop as he walked off the stage. Wherever that girl went she bought mayhem. Wait, was that a tear on Thalia's cheek?!

There was only one name called out in between Jason's and Camille's. "Camille Harrington," the board member called. She leaped onto the stage, throwing massive grins to the crowd, and as always, acting as though they were all there for her. But she owned it. It was her thing.

"Thank you so much," she smiled, shaking the board members hand and taking her degree. Off the stage, a friend of hers was holding a baby wearing a miniature graduation cap. Camille couldn't stop beaming at her daughter as she graduated.

"Percy Jackson," the board member called a few names after. He jogged on stage, looking kind of uncomfortable in the gown. Sally and Paul were beaming from the crowd and Tyson was full on crying with pride. Percy grinned as he winked at them. He had one degree in Physical Activity and Annabeth figured he would use it to teach young demigods how to survive or something. Or become a full time monster hunter.

"Thank you," he said, positively beaming as he shook the hand of the board member. He waved his degree around and his fist pumped the air as he walked off stage, making a few people in the crowd laugh a little.

"Michael Kahale," the board member called after Percy. There were a few doctors sat in the crowd, ready to help Michael if needed. He was staying for another year at college to actually get his degree, since he spent his last year in care. But they still wanted him to be a part of the ceremony with his peers. He shook the board members hand and gave a small, apologetic smile to Reyna, who was smiling proudly off stage.

"Reyna Ramirez-Arellano," the board member called. Reyna jumped up on stage. It was rare to get a smile out of her on good days. Now she couldn't stop laughing. She took her sociology degree elegantly and the board member used both of his hands to shake one of hers. Everybody knew her as the praetor who led them out of two wars, so everyone was celebrating her achievements.

Hylla was in the crowd with her new husband. They had introduced themselves to Nico, and the three of the cheered with pride. There was even a whistle from somewhere in the crowd. "Thank you," Reyna grinned, walking off the stage and joining her friends.

Off the stage, the group formed, listening to the rest of the names, but focusing on each other. Camille and Michael both stood with them, and everyone was too happy to care about everything that had happened between them.

"We did it!" Annabeth exclaimed, looking around the five faces that all held beautifully big smiles. "We actually did it. Group hug!"

"No, no, no," Camille said, cringing as she tried to back away from the hug.

Percy pushed her into it, smirking. "Get over yourself," he told her.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Night time fell and everybody went to the after-grad party. The parents had left New Rome after kissing, hugging and crying at their kids. The graduation field was almost completely deserted, except from four graduates.

"There," Jason said proudly. Terminus was off guard that day with all the parents, that someone had bought in the smallest of pocket knives. Jason just finished carving a 'J+R' into the back of the graduation stage, in a small spot in the wood. It was right next to the 'P+A' that Percy had carved in the five minutes before.

Jason turned back to the other three and sat next to them on the ground.

It was an event for more casual suits. Percy wore a black, pinstriped thing with a blue shirt and Jason wore a grey thing with a white shirt. Although, both boys had discarded their jackets and rolled up their sleeves, which the girls thought was super hot.

As for the girls. Annabeth wore a dark navy dress with tight sleeves to her elbows and a loose skirt that fell to her knees. Reyna wore a white dress with a pencil skirt of the same length as Annabeth's. It had a floral pattern near her waist.

There was a sigh as they all sat together on the grass.

"I can't believe it's over," Jason sighed, quite sadly after a pause.

"I can't wait to see what new life we all choose for ourselves," Reyna mused. She was leaning against Annabeth and had her feet in Jason's lap.

"Well I'm certainly not coming back to this place," Percy huffed, looking around at the college campus.

"You know, you three always go on about what a terrible time the last four years have been," Annabeth said, in disbelief. "I don't know what you expected. It's meant to be terrible. It's called college."

* * *

 **A/N: And... that's it.**

 **I can't believe it's over. I managed to write this with minimal tears. For those who didn't get it, the bits in italics were some of the best moments, and the bits in bold was Annabeth's graduation speech. At least we still have that series of sequel one-shots. Feel free to leave requests for that by the way.**

 **Thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, favourited and followed. You guys have been such great readers and you've made this, not only my second-biggest story on this website, but one of the biggest Jeyna stories on this website, so thank you.** **-Izzy x**


	41. Creating The Future

**Usually when I publish any kind of sequel I make a note at the end of the story to tell readers when it'll be published. These are a list of questions I got from reviews/tumblr. (officiallyobsessedblog - if you wanted to know). Some of these questions are things that weren't asked, but I'm going to answer them before you ask, just in case. If there's anything that isn't answered you can PM me on here or ask on tumblr. If you don't have an account on either website... well you'll just have to wait and find out. All the love -Izzy**

* * *

 **What will it be called?** Creating The Future

 **Where will is take place?** Mostly Chicago.

 **But Percabeth weren't in Chicago! That was Jeyna's thing...?** They can move.

 **Will Emeraude make an appearance?** Yes. Definitely.

 **Will Camille/Michael still be there?** Not in all the one-shots, but they will make appearances.

 **What about Hylla and her new husband?** Um, hello? Yaaass!

 **When will is be published?** Probably this weekend. Maybe early next week. Look out for it on Sunday/Monday.

 **Can we have guest stars from the rest of the PJO/HOO characters? e.g. Piper?** Yes. Yes we can.

 **Will there still be drama and scandals or is it all fluff?** Best of both. Some chapters will be connected to each other, like I might involve a scandal that's split into two or three one-shots. I might have scandals in one one-shot. About half - three quarters are fluffy.

 **How long are these one-shots?** Couple thousand words.

 **How many are there going to be?** ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

 **Will they still be loosely based on Gossip Girl or is that over?** Like the rest of this story, some will be, some will not be.

 **Can you write Solangelo?** no.

 **When will you start writing them?** I've made a start on the first one. I can tell you it'll be called 'Location, Location, Location'

 **Will they be compliant to 'It's Called Christmas'?** No.

 **Will you continue 'It's Called Christmas'?** Probably.

 **Will they all be published separately, or as one big story?** They are one-shots, but they will be published in the same story.


	42. So I got some news

**Good news! I think! Idk depends what you guys think.**

So, if you're a constant reader of my stories, you'll know that I haven't written anything in months due to life being busy. But in my spare time, I still haven't been able to right anything. I've been so uninspired and unmotivated, and none of my pieces are really appealing to me anymore.

So I thought back to when I was last excited about writing. Like, when was the last time I was so happy to run home and write something?

And it's when I was writing this story. And the sequel of one shots don't really compare to how epic the actual story felt.

So I'm going to write it again.

Don't worry, I'm not going to delete this version! You can still come back and re-read it if you like. I'm also not expecting you all to read the new one. You've already read the story once, why read what is fundamentally the same story? I completely understand.

The thing is though, I'm not going to write it for you guys this time. I'm going to write it for me.

This time I'm not going to hold back. The scandals are going to be bigger and better than before. No more censoring or minimalizing. No more being afraid of negative reviews. This is going to get real. More demigodishness to go with the drama. Maybe even a quest or two, I haven't decided.

Leo/Piper are going to be included as one of the main couples as well as Jeyna and Percabeth, so it won't be exactly the same. And Solangelo and Frazel will be in the background, but I'm not huge on those ships, so bare with me.

I'm still going to continue all of my other stories, don't worry. Including the sequels to the first one.

I'm really excited about this. I've already wizzed through the first chapter (the chapters are going to be much longer btw) and I can't wait to keep going.

So let me know what you guys think. I'm excited to see who's going to come along for the trip.

I'm also looking for a beta btw, so let me know if you're interested.

Lots of love (and Happy Holidays) -Izzy xx


	43. Even more after-story ANs

**A/N:: Okay, so the new story is out. I'm excited. Idk if you guys are excited but I'm pretty excited. It's gonna get real really fast.**

 **It's called "New Romantics" because I'm a die hard fan of Taylor Swift and I couldn't think of anything original. Naming stories is hard.**

 **Please go and check it out, let me know what you think and if you want me to continue. I know I say that I'm doing this for myself, and I am, but I also need constant validation and praise.**

 **Or criticism. Both is good.**


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